Medium Chain Triglycerides as an Adjunct to the Modified Atkins Diet for Women With Catamenial Epilepsy

Inclusion Criteria:

• Adult women ≥ 18 years
• Already on the modified Atkins diet for at least 3 months and compliant with treatment
• Catamenial seizure pattern (by Herzog criteria) for at least 2 of the past 3 months (as documented by calendars provided with annotations for seizures and menstrual cycle start and end dates)

Exclusion Criteria (basic exclusion criteria for the modified Atkins diet, so patients should have already been screened for these factors):

• Unwilling to restrict carbohydrates
• Significantly underweight (BMI <18.5)
• Kidney disease
• History of hypercholesterolemia (>300 mg/dl) or hypertriglyceridemia (>200 mg/dl)
• Metabolic or mitochondrial disorder
• Pregnancy
• Lactose intolerance or milk allergy
• Aversion to liquids or inability to eat solid food

Exclusion Criteria (specific to this study):

• Men
• Women who are menopausal or peri-menopausal
• Prior use of betaquik® at any time for any duration
• Already using another ketogenic diet supplement on a sporadic basis (unless the patient is using one daily and is willing to continue doing so for the duration of this study)
• Already using coconut oil specifically for catamenial epilepsy within the month prior to enrollment (okay if patient only using for cooking throughout the month)
• Taking a hormonal contraceptive so that they do not menstruate (e.g. taking active instead of placebo oral contraceptive pills to avoid having a period)
• Anticipated need to adjust anti-epileptic medications within the next 6 months
• Anticipated initiation, change, or discontinuation of a hormonal contraceptive within the next 6 months
• Pregnant or anticipated pregnancy within the next 6 months