Dementia (major neurocognitive disorder) is an increasingly common syndrome with a significant burden on patients, caregivers, the health-care system, and the society. The prevalence of dementia will certainly continue to grow as the US population ages. Current treatments for dementia, though, are limited. One proposed nonpharmacologic approach for the delay or prevention of dementia is the use of a ketogenic diet. The ketogenic diet was originally employed to treat refractory epilepsy and has shown promise in many neurologic diseases. It has also gained recent popularity for its weight loss effects. Several preclinical studies have confirmed a benefit of ketosis on cognition and systemic inflammation. Given the renewed emphasis on neuroinflammation as a pathogenic contributor to cognitive decline, and the decreased systemic inflammation observed with the ketogenic diet, it is plausible that this diet may delay, ameliorate, or prevent progression of cognitive decline. Several small human studies have shown benefit on cognition in dementia with a ketogenic diet intervention. Future, large controlled studies are needed to confirm this benefit; however, the ketogenic diet has shown promise in regard to delay or mitigation of symptoms of cognitive decline.

中文翻译：

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生酮饮食治疗和预防痴呆：综述。

痴呆症（主要的神经认知障碍）是一种越来越普遍的综合症，给患者，护理人员，医疗保健系统和社会带来沉重负担。随着美国人口的老龄化，痴呆症的患病率肯定会继续增长。但是，目前对痴呆症的治疗是有限的。一种提议的用于延迟或预防痴呆的非药理学方法是使用生酮饮食。生酮饮食最初用于治疗难治性癫痫，在许多神经系统疾病中显示出希望。由于其减肥作用，它最近也获得了普及。几项临床前研究已经证实，酮症对认知和全身性炎症有益处。鉴于人们重新强调神经炎症是导致认知能力下降的致病因素，以及通过生酮饮食观察到的全身炎症减少，这种饮食可能会延迟，改善或预防认知功能减退的进展。几项小型的人体研究表明，采用生酮饮食干预对痴呆症的认知有益。未来需要进行大规模的对照研究来证实这种益处。但是，生酮饮食在延缓或减轻认知功能减退症状方面显示出希望。