Urgent Appeal: Research halted without cause on medical keto for Schizophrenia
Friends,
We need your help.
The Maryland Health Department, led by Health Secretary Dr. Laura Herrera Scott, has made a perplexing decision to shut down groundbreaking research at Spring Grove Hospital Center, a state psychiatric facility. This decision halts the only inpatient trial in the US on ketogenic therapy for schizophrenia, overseen by Dr. Deanna Kelly, an esteemed researcher with 27 years of experience conducting inpatient clinical trials for schizophrenia.
The story of the clinical trial closure broke yesterday in the Baltimore Sun. The study received approval from the University of Maryland Institutional Review Board and was monitored by the Spring Grove Hospital Research Committee and an independent Data Safety and Monitoring Board. The study participants elected to join of their own accord, following their psychiatrists' independent endorsements of ketogenic therapy as a promising treatment option.
After a 16-week review, there were no health or safety concerns with the ketogenic diet study. Instead, the decision was made based solely on the funding source: Federal tax-payer-funded research will be allowed to continue, while critical research funded by private foundations, nonprofits, and individuals–which costs the state nothing–will no longer be allowed. In Dr. Bret Scher’s recent YouTube interview, Dr. Kelly shares more about the trial and the unfortunate decision to terminate it.
Approximately one-third of people with schizophrenia are labeled treatment-resistant, meaning standard treatments have failed to help them. This dire situation calls for innovative approaches and better treatments. Everyone suffering from serious mental illness deserves hope.
By implementing ketogenic therapy, I put my bipolar 1 disorder into remission and no longer endure the life-diminishing side effects of antipsychotics or live in constant fear of psychosis. I have met many individuals whose experiences with ketogenic therapy for serious mental illness mirror my own. Furthermore, a recent trial at Stanford supports the efficacy of this therapy for both bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, and research into this promising intervention for psychiatric conditions continues to expand. The Maryland Health Department's decision not only hampers scientific advancement but also directly affects the lives of over a dozen patients who volunteered to participate in the study. These patients, largely from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, were set to receive cutting-edge metabolic psychiatry treatments through this trial and generally lack the means to pursue this option on their own. As someone who reclaimed my life with ketogenic therapy, I find the decision to block this research and the corresponding direct patient care unconscionable and infuriating.
On behalf of those who have reclaimed their lives by implementing metabolic therapies and the millions of patients still suffering, we urge you to sign and share Dr. Christopher Palmer's petition (link below). We must not allow government restrictions to hinder scientific inquiry when current treatment options are insufficient.
Please sign the petition and share widely with your network by:
Forwarding this newsletter
Sharing these posts linking to the petition on X: Dr. Chris Palmer's post, Jan Ellison Baszucki’s post
Contacting the Secretary directly and asking her to reverse her decision immediately. Feel free to reference any of the key points in this newsletter or in Dr. Palmer’s petition:
Social media: https://x.com/MDHealthDept
Phone: (410) 767-4639, 1-877-463-3464 (toll-free, Maryland) 1-800-735-2258 (toll-free)
Together, we can advocate for better mental health treatments and support those in desperate need of more effective treatments, hope, and healing.
Warm regards,
Hannah Warren
Mental Health Communications and Advocacy Manager
Metabolic Mind
