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First RCT of Keto for Schizophrenia & Bipolar Disorder: Results & Future Directions
Description
New results from first-of-its-kind randomized controlled trial on a ketogenic diet for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder with psychosis offer important insights into metabolic psychiatry and mental health treatment.
In this interview, Dr. Bret Scher sits down with Dr. Julie Milder to walk through the study results, recently published in Schizophrenia Bulletin. As the first RCT in psychosis-spectrum conditions to publish in the peer-reviewed literature, it’s an important step toward understanding how metabolic interventions may play a role in serious mental illness.
Key insights from the study:
- In the 1-month randomized portion of the trial, the ketogenic group showed significant improvements in metabolic health markers compared to diet-as-usual
- Psychiatric symptoms trended toward improvement, but were not statistically significant at 1 month
- Participants who opted into the ketogenic extension part of the study (4 total months of keto), saw improvements in depression, cognition, and positive and negative symptoms.
In this video, Dr. Milder also breaks down important additional context about the limitations of the study, including the length of the randomized portion of the trial and the variance in dietary support between the two diet groups.
This study adds to growing evidence linking metabolic health and psychiatric conditions and explores whether ketogenic therapy may play a role in addressing underlying mechanisms.
👉 Want to learn more about the trial? Visit our study page: https://www.metabolicmind.org/trials/featured-post/peer-reviewed-results-of-first-ever-randomized-controlled-trial-of-ketogenic-diet-in-schizophrenia-spectrum-and-bipolar-i-disorder/
🔎 Have questions about how to apply metabolic therapies effectively? Submit them at metabolicmind.org/questions to be featured in a future Metabolic Mailbag episode.
Expert Featured:
Dr. Julie Milder
- Baszucki Group Director of Neuroscience
- http://linkedin.com/in/juliemilder
Dr. Bret Scher
- Baszucki Group Medical Director
- https://x.com/bschermd
Resources Mentioned:
Metabolic improvements with a ketogenic diet correlate with symptom improvement in psychosis: A randomized controlled trial
Free CME Clinician Trainings:
Are you a clinician who would like to learn more about the science behind these therapies and how to implement them in practice? Earn CME with our growing library of courses from some of the top experts in the field including Dr. Chris Palmer, Dr. Georgia Ede, Dr. Matthew Bernstein, Dr. Mariela Glandt, Dr. Deanna Kelly, Dr. Julie Milder, Dr. Zoltan Sarnyai, and Dr. Bret Scher with more coming soon.
Our courses have been made FREE by grants from Baszucki Group, so we can spread these powerful therapies as widely as possible. Earn CME/CNE credits:
https://www.metabolicmind.org/for-clinicians/trainings-courses/?utm_medium=organic-social&utm_so