Pilot Study of the Modified Atkins Diet for Tourette Syndrome

Stopped early · Phase 1

Conditions studied: Tourette Syndrome

In brief

Pharmacotherapy has long been considered the primary approach for tic suppression in Tourette syndrome (TS). Unfortunately, medications are often ineffective and frequently have significant side-effects. This is a pilot therapeutic study using a dietary approach, the modified Atkins diet (MAD). The goal of this study is to establish the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of dietary therapy in patients with TS ("proof of concept") and to determine whether this intervention is worthy of evaluation in large-scale clinical trials. The modified Atkins diet mimics the well established ketogenic diet, but in a less-restrictive dietary manner. Dietary approaches using the MAD/ketogenic diet are currently under investigation for neurological conditions other than epilepsy, including Alzheimer disease, headaches, autism, narcolepsy, brain tumors, traumatic brain injury, Parkinson's disease, and depression.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT00952601

Run by

Johns Hopkins University

People needed

20

Starts

2008-09-01

Expected to finish

2010-07-01

Last updated by the study team

2010-07-15

Who can join

Age: 12 and older, up to 65. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Ages 12-65 years
• Tourette syndrome (vocal and motor tics for over a year)
• > 20 score on the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale
• Ability to follow instructions and comply with the dietary changes

You may not qualify if…

• Secondary tics
• Underweight (BMI < 5%)
• Prior use of the Atkins diet for over 2 days
• High cholesterol or triglycerides
• Major depression or anxiety disorder
• Pregnancy
• Substance abuse

Where it is running

• Johns Hopkins Hospital — Baltimore, Maryland, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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