Kansas City, KS- Dr. Steve Stites discusses the potential of ketogenic diets to improve brain health and manage Alzheimer's disease.

He highlights a study involving 80 Alzheimer's patients, half following a ketogenic diet for three months. The diet, high in fat and low in carbs, aims to increase ketone production as an alternative fuel for the brain.

Preliminary results show cognitive and metabolic improvements.

Dr. Steve Stites, Chief Medical Officer, The University of Kansas Health System; Executive Vice Chancellor, The University of Kansas Medical Center

• Dr. Stites introduces the topic of brain fuel and the ketogenic diet's potential impact on Alzheimer's disease.
• He mentions the high prevalence of Alzheimer's disease among people over 65 and the projected increase by 2060.

Dr. Russell Swerdlow, Memory Care Specialist, The University of Kansas Health System; Co-Director, KU Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center

• Dr. Swerdlow explains the brain's reliance on glucose and the inefficiency in using glucose in Alzheimer's disease.
• He describes how ketones, generated from fat, can enter the brain and be used as an alternative fuel source.

Dr. Matthew Taylor, Associate Professor of Dietetics and Nutrition at the KU School of Health Professions

• Dr. Taylor explains the study involves a randomized trial of 80 Alzheimer's patients following either a ketogenic diet or a therapeutic lifestyle change for three months.
• The study found that patients with Alzheimer's disease showed measurable improvements in cognition and brain metabolism when following a ketogenic diet.
• Dr. Taylor explains the difficulty of adapting to a ketogenic diet, especially for those with severe Alzheimer's disease.

Thursday, December 4^th is All Things Heart:

From Chest Pain to Crisis: Doctors Discover Rare Tear in Student’s Aorta

A college senior thought it was just heartburn… but the truth was tearing him apart- he had an aortic dissection. Just weeks before graduating KU, he woke up in the hospital,  in a different city, with a stunning diagnosis.   The warning signs that could save your life.

ATTENTION MEDIA: Please note access is with Microsoft Teams:

Join on your computer or mobile app

Click here to join the meeting

Meeting ID: 235 659 792 451
Passcode: 6CSfGE

Download Teams | Join on the web

Or call in (audio only)

+1 913-318-8863,566341546#   United States, Kansas City

TVU Grid link: UoK_Health_SDI

Restream links: Facebook.com/kuhospital

YouTube.com/kuhospital

Send advance questions to medicalnewsnetwork@kumc.edu.