After the discovery of phenytoin (Dilantin®) in 1937, the attention of physicians and investigators turned from studies of the mechanisms of action and efficacy of the diet toward finding and evaluating new anticonvulsant medications. The era of pharmacologic treatment for epilepsy had begun. When compared with the promise of the medications, the diet was thought to be relatively difficult to adhere to (versus taking a pill every day), rigid, and expensive. In addition, many of the researchers from the Mayo Clinic where it was first created stopped publishing new articles.
