Baszucki Group Partners with Mayo Clinic to Investigate Ketogenic Therapy for Bipolar Disorder
Baszucki Group has announced an exciting collaboration with Mayo Clinic to support a clinical trial focused on ketogenic therapy for bipolar disorder. This trial aims to explore the intersection of metabolic health and mental health, specifically how ketogenic dietary interventions can impact both the brain and the body, with an emphasis on cardio-metabolic health. The ultimate goal is to help develop an interdisciplinary precision nutrition clinical service that integrates psychiatric care with metabolic health.
A $3.3 Million Investment in Clinical Research
With a generous $3.3 million gift from Baszucki Group, this trial builds upon promising pilot studies conducted by Stanford University and the University of Edinburgh. These preliminary results suggested that a ketogenic diet may have therapeutic potential for mental health disorders, particularly bipolar disorder. This new trial aims to provide further evidence and insights into how this dietary approach can benefit patients by examining both psychological and physical health outcomes.
The study introduces therapeutic precision ketosis, a personalized dietary approach designed to optimize ketosis for therapeutic purposes. Unlike traditional dietary interventions, precision ketosis tailors the ketogenic diet to the individual, making it a cutting-edge method that could change the way clinicians approach treatment. The trial will explore how this dietary therapy can impact both the brain and the body, with a focus on integrating cardio-metabolic and mental health measures.
The Clinical Trial: Precision Nutrition in Action
Led by Dr. Mark A. Frye, a psychiatrist at Mayo Clinic, and Dr. Kyla Lara-Breitinger, a preventative cardiologist at Mayo Clinic, the trial will involve 30 individuals diagnosed with bipolar disorder, all of whom are currently experiencing depressive symptoms. The participants will undergo a tailored ketogenic dietary intervention over a 20-week period, during which they will receive continuous nutritional counseling and behavioral health guidance.
The clinical trial is designed to assess not only psychological outcomes, such as improvements in depressive symptoms, but also to track cardio-metabolic outcomes. These will include weight, cholesterol levels, and biomarkers related to vascular health. The study will employ advanced lipid tests and detailed vascular ultrasounds to monitor how the ketogenic diet affects cardiovascular health, helping clinicians understand its broader impacts on the body.
By combining psychological and physical health assessments, this trial aims to provide comprehensive insights into the potential benefits and challenges of incorporating ketogenic therapy into clinical practice. The results will guide the development of a precision nutrition clinical service that will integrate psychiatry, endocrinology, preventive cardiology, and nutrition, offering a holistic treatment model for patients with bipolar disorder and other serious mental health conditions.
Long-Term Goals: Precision Nutrition Service and Broader Applications
At the conclusion of the trial, the collected clinical data will serve as the foundation for creating the first-ever precision nutrition clinical service at Mayo Clinic. This service will be designed to offer a scalable model for implementing ketogenic therapy, both for bipolar disorder and potentially other serious mental illnesses. The aim is to create a practical, interdisciplinary framework that can be applied to patient care, providing a new approach to mental health treatment that includes a focus on metabolic health.
The study is also part of a larger initiative from Baszucki Group called ReTHINK Bipolar: Researching Therapeutic Integration of Nutritional Ketosis in Bipolar Disorder. This program has already provided over $11 million in funding for clinical trials at leading institutions, including McLean Hospital, the University of Pittsburgh, Stanford University, and the University of California, San Francisco, among others. These investments are part of Baszucki Group’s broader commitment to improving patient care for bipolar disorder and other serious mental illnesses, including schizophrenia, major depression, and anorexia nervosa.
Uncovering the Biological Mechanisms of Bipolar Disorder
This collaboration marks an important milestone in the scientific understanding of bipolar disorder. By investigating how a ketogenic diet can enhance both brain function and metabolic health, the study seeks to uncover the biological mechanisms behind this complex mental health condition. Researchers hope that by better understanding these mechanisms, they will be able to translate their findings into clinical programs that can improve patient outcomes for those with serious mental health and chronic medical conditions.
Notably, Mayo Clinic was the site of the first known ketogenic trial in pediatric epilepsy, conducted in 1921, with results that helped pave the way for modern ketogenic therapies. Nearly a century later, research into ketogenic interventions is returning to the forefront, with a much stronger understanding of the neurobiological and metabolic connections that underpin both mental and physical health.
Revolutionizing Mental Health Care Through Nutritional Interventions
Jan Ellison Baszucki, the co-founder and President of Baszucki Group, emphasized the far-reaching potential of this initiative, saying, “By exploring the profound connections between metabolic and mental health, this initiative not only holds the potential to revolutionize care for bipolar disorder, but also lays the groundwork for broader applications of therapeutic nutrition in psychiatry.”
This collaboration between Baszucki Group and Mayo Clinic represents a bold step toward integrating nutritional interventions into the treatment of mental health disorders. If successful, the trial could help establish a new paradigm in psychiatric care—one that considers not only psychological factors but also the vital role of metabolic health in treating mental illnesses like bipolar disorder.
Looking Ahead: The Future of Precision Nutrition in Psychiatry
The study’s outcomes could pave the way for future research into the therapeutic use of nutrition in psychiatry, expanding the potential applications of precision nutrition beyond bipolar disorder. If ketogenic therapy proves effective in treating bipolar disorder, it may become part of a broader toolkit for addressing various mental health conditions and could be integrated into clinical practices worldwide.
Ultimately, this collaboration between Baszucki Group and Mayo Clinic represents more than just a clinical trial—it is a pivotal step in rethinking how nutrition and metabolic health can be utilized to treat complex mental health conditions, offering new hope for patients and clinicians alike.
About Baszucki Group
Launched in 2021 by Roblox founder and Chief Executive Officer David Baszucki and best-selling author Jan Ellison Baszucki, Baszucki Group leverages private giving, impact investing, advocacy, storytelling and community building to drive foundational change. A primary objective of Baszucki Group is to transform mental health outcomes by supporting initiatives at the intersection of metabolism, psychiatry and neuroscience. To learn more about metabolic strategies for treating mental disorders, including ketogenic therapy, visit Metabolic Mind, a nonprofit initiative of Baszucki Group.
