Ketogenic Diet and Exercise Improve Peripheral Neuropathy in a Mouse Model of Metabolic Syndrome
Metabolic syndrome (MetS) increases risk for peripheral neuropathy (PN), a progressive nerve disorder with limited treatment options. We examined whether long-term ketogenic diet (KD) could maintain nerve health, and whether KD, exercise, or both could reverse established MetS PN. Maintenance KD preserved body composition, liver health, and nerve function, while all interventions improved metabolic and nerve outcomes to varying degrees. Transcriptomic profiling of sciatic nerve and gastrocnemius muscle revealed partial reversal of MetS-induced inflammatory, cytoskeletal, and metabolic gene alterations. These findings highlight KD and exercise for treating MetS PN.
Authors
- Diana M Rigan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4564-2130)
- John M. Hayes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5677-2216)
- Adam Patterson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3893-8670)
- Stéphanie Eid (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3775-7544)
- Pongrat Jaisil
- Samuel J. Teener (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-9072-8184)
- Emily J. Koubek (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6952-3326)
- Junguk Hur (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0736-2149)
- Crystal Pacut
- Andrew Carter (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-7953-8998)
- Bhumsoo Kim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2645-1673)
- Kai Guo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-5171-3812)
- Dae-Gyu Jang
- Jacob Meyer
- Haley McQuown
- Chloe Kiriluk
- Ian F. Webber-Davis
- Dave Bridges
- William Lentz
- Eva L. Feldman
- Cameron M. Miller
Institutions
- University of Wisconsin–Madison (US)
- Khon Kaen University (TH)
- University of North Dakota (US)
- University of Michigan (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Diabetes
- Published
- 2026-03-20
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.2337/db25-1015
- Primary Topic
- Diet and metabolism studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00