SAN MATEO, CALIF -- Baszucki Group announced a new pilot study on a ketogenic diet in bipolar disorder. “For the first time in years, I felt like my brain was finally running on the right fuel,” said one of the study participants. Published today in BJPsych Open, the study is the first to use neuroimaging to demonstrate that a ketogenic diet may improve brain metabolism in individuals with a bipolar disorder diagnosis. With over 100 years of evidence of efficacy in epilepsy, a ketogenic diet is now being studied around the world for a variety of psychiatric and neurological conditions.

The first-of-its-kind European study, supported by Baszucki Group, used advanced brain imaging techniques, including magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), to measure changes in brain metabolism. The imaging revealed reductions in excitatory neurotransmitters typically elevated in bipolar disorder, suggesting a potential mechanism behind a ketogenic diet's effectiveness. The study also showed that ketone levels correlated with symptom improvement in a subset of individuals who reported daily ratings. This pilot trial points to an important new direction for research and offers hope for innovative treatment options for individuals living with this serious mental illness.

Co-led by University of Edinburgh scientists Iain Campbell, PhD, a Baszucki Metabolic Psychiatry Research Fellow, Daniel Smith, MD, FRCPsych, Chair of Psychiatry, and Harry Campbell, MD, FRSE, FMedSci, the research team enrolled 27 participants with bipolar disorder into a 6-8 week pilot trial of a ketogenic diet. Twenty participants completed the study, demonstrating that the intervention was safe and tolerable in this population. Most reached and maintained ketosis, with 91% of readings positive for blood ketones. Among participants who provided reliable daily ketone and mental health data assessments, increased ketone level was correlated with improvements in mood, energy, impulsivity, and anxiety, with some describing the intervention as life-changing.

“A ketogenic diet gave me a lifeline, restoring my energy and sense of hope,” said a study participant. “I felt like I was finally healing my mind, not just managing my bipolar symptoms. It opened me up to new possibilities and a brighter future.”

“Using a ketogenic diet is like giving my mind a warm bath,” said another participant. “The edginess is gone. I feel calmer, clearer, and my brain is working again.”

Markers of metabolic function also improved. Nineteen of 20 participants lost an average of 9.3 pounds (4.2kg) and saw improvements in body mass index (BMI) and blood pressure. These findings suggest that a ketogenic diet may help mitigate common metabolic health risks associated with bipolar disorder and its pharmacological treatments, which can lead to shortened life spans.

“We observed markers of reduced excitotoxicity in two key brain areas: the anterior cingulate cortex and posterior cingulate cortex—both implicated in bipolar disorder. We also observed effects on a marker which has been associated with Lithium and insulin signaling in the posterior cingulate cortex” said Dr. Iain Campbell, who also lives with the disorder and follows a ketogenic diet to alleviate his symptoms. “These results add to a small but growing body of evidence suggesting that a ketogenic diet may be an effective adjunctive metabolic intervention for bipolar disorder. There is an urgent need for larger replication studies and carefully designed randomized clinical trials to build on these findings.”

These changes align with the metabolic overdrive hypothesis, a theory Drs. Campbell have proposed, which posits that energy dysregulation is central to the mechanism of bipolar disorder and that addressing this dysregulation may be key to the success of ketogenic diet therapy.

A New Frontier in Mental Health

This pilot study paved the way for a broader initiative at the University of Edinburgh, made possible by a competitive research grant from the UKRI Medical Research Council that established the first European Metabolic Psychiatry Hub. The hub, to which Baszucki Group also contributed funding, is a collaboration of over 100 scientists dedicated to accelerating research into the connections between metabolism and mental health. Its focus is to explore the potential of ketogenic therapy and other metabolic interventions for treating severe mental illnesses.

This study is the second recently published pilot trial to demonstrate the safety and potential efficacy of ketogenic therapy in improving both metabolic and mental health markers in serious mental illness. The first trial, also funded by Baszucki Group, was conducted at Stanford University and also suggested that systemic metabolic changes from a ketogenic diet may help stabilize the brain in serious mental illness.

“This trial is another important step forward in establishing ketogenic therapy as a standard treatment for serious mental illness,” said Jan Ellison Baszucki, co-founder and President of Baszucki Group. “We’re proud to have supported this research and remain hopeful that ongoing studies will continue to advance our understanding of the metabolic intervention that saved our son’s life.”

As awareness grows about the deep connection between metabolic function and brain health, this study advances the global scientific movement toward neurometabolic approaches to understanding and treating mental illness.