The fact that hypotheses and methods of treatment for epilepsy are constantly changing, each as it is advanced being tried and found wanting, causes a healthy disbelief in any new form of treatment. Time alone will supply substantial reasons for altering what may be termed the traditional treatment for epilepsy.
The use of diets high in fat and extremely low in carbohydrate in the treatment for idiopathic epilepsy was first suggested by Wilder1 as a possible substitute for the fasting regimen which had previously been shown by Guelpa and Marie2 and by Geyelin3 to influence seizures in many cases. Wilder originally proposed the diet on the theory that aceto-acetic acid should behave pharmacologically as an anesthetic. In such an event, the diet might act only as a palliative measure similar to the action of phenobarbital, and the value of a regimen that necessitated so much effort and