[The technology of induction of physiological ketosis in asthenia of various origins and decreased resistance to cognitive and physical activity].

Objective: To assess the possibility of achieving physiological ketosis with oral administration of beta-hydroxybutyrate salts and, if ketosis is achieved, to assess its effect on cognitive functioning in patients with brain dysfunction during the recovery period after a somatic disease.

Material and methods: The study included 86 patients with complaints of asthenic manifestations (ICD-10 diagnoses F06; F07; R53). Half of the patients were included in the study group taking beta-hydroxybutyrate salts, and the other half were included in the control group taking placebo. The duration of administration was 15 days. The content of ketones in the blood was assessed immediately before and after taking the drug on the first and last days of the study. Subjective severity of asthenia manifestations was assessed using a visual-analog scale (VAS). The Montreal Cognitive Assessment and the Trial Making Test (TMT) were used to assess cognitive functions.

Results: The control and study groups did not differ significantly in subjective and objective indicators of mental performance before taking the drug. At the end of the study, the blood ketone content in the experimental group was statistically significantly higher than in the control group. Physiological ketosis was achieved in 29 patients of the experimental group (67%). By the end of the study, the experimental group showed a significant improvement in all cognitive tests. At the same time, by the end of the study, only an improvement in TMT-A performance was noted in the control group. Also, in the experimental group, statistically significantly more patients achieved a significant improvement in mental performance on VAS tasks.

Conclusion: The results confirm the hypothesis that oral administration of beta-hydroxybutyrate can stimulate physiological ketosis. A significant positive dynamics of cognitive functioning of patients and a decrease in the severity of asthenia during beta-hydroxybutyrate intake are noted.