Dr David Jehring

The Children's Mental Health Resource Center is recruiting for the next cohort of its longitudinal ketogenic therapy study in young people ages 6 through 20. The cohort begins September 1, 2026, and CMHRC needs at least twenty participants. When they contacted me, only eight had completed the screening and enrollment process. This is one of those moments when everyone who says we need better evidence in metabolic psychiatry has to understand what producing that evidence actually requires. It requires families willing to participate and we are going to help them find them. Please share this post far and wide in groups and among your professional contacts. The first fourteen days of the study are completed without changing the diet so that the research team can establish a baseline. Participants then follow a ketogenic food plan for two years while tracking symptoms, food intake, blood glucose, and ketones. Assessments are completed four times each year. After the active portion of the study ends, families meet with the research team four times a year for another five years. This is a meaningful commitment because the question being studied is larger than whether someone can produce ketones for a few weeks. The researchers want to know whether families can implement ketogenic therapy at home, whether symptoms change, and what happens over time. The study does not expect perfection. This is important. A family does not invalidate the research by having difficulty. Difficulty is part of the research question. Honest information about adherence, symptoms, food challenges, and periods outside ketosis helps investigators understand whether ketogenic therapy is feasible in ordinary life. Even hospitalization does not automatically remove someone from the study. The program continues to support the caregiver and helps the participant return to the food plan after coming home. Families should not decide on their own that they are ineligible. The study is recruiting young people ages 6 through 20 who live primarily in the United States and have a mood disorder such as bipolar disorder, depression, or disruptive mood dysregulation disorder. CMHRC also welcomes interest from families whose child has symptoms that may be consistent with a mood disorder but does not yet have an official diagnosis. Young people already receiving therapy or psychiatric care may participate. The interest survey begins the screening process. It does not guarantee enrollment or obligate the family to participate. cmhrc.org/keto-long-study/ Questions can be sent directly to [email protected].