 Conklin 's fasting therapy was adopted by neurologists in mainstream practice . In 1916 , a Dr McMurray wrote to the New York Medical Journal claiming to have successfully treated epilepsy patients with a fast , followed by a starch- and sugar @-@ free diet , since 1912 . In 1921 , prominent endocrinologist H. Rawle Geyelin reported his experiences to the American Medical Association convention . He had seen Conklin 's success first @-@ hand and had attempted to reproduce the results in 36 of his own patients . He achieved similar results despite only having studied the patients for a short time . Further studies in the 1920s indicated that seizures generally returned after the fast . Charles Howland , the parent of one of Conklin 's successful patients and a wealthy New York corporate lawyer , gave his brother John a gift of $ 5 @,@ 000 to study " the ketosis of starvation " . As professor of paediatrics at Johns Hopkins Hospital , John Howland used the money to fund research undertaken by neurologist Stanley Cobb and his assistant William G. Lennox . 
