Neuroprotective effects of a ketogenic diet in combination with exogenous ketone salts following acute spinal cord injury

This study investigates whether combining a ketogenic diet (KD) with exogenous ketone supplementation (KS) can rapidly induce ketosis and promote recovery after spinal cord injury (SCI) in rats. The results showed that while KS supplementation increased ketone levels more rapidly in uninjured rats, it didn't significantly prolong the increase in ketone levels in rats with SCI compared to KD alone. However, the KD + KS treatment still demonstrated neuroprotective effects, including increased neuronal and axonal sparing, and improved forelimb motor abilities.

• 1
  Exogenous ketone supplementation raised blood ketone levels more than the KD alone in uninjured animals.
• 2
  After SCI, exogenous KS supplementation did not have a pronounced prolonged effect on ketone levels compared to KD alone, suggesting fast ketone body usage after injury.
• 3
  KD + KS treatment improved forelimb motor performance, increased neuronal survival in the ventral horn, and promoted axonal sparing in the dorsal corticospinal tract in SCI rats.