Epilepsy in old age

Der Nervenarzt
Kai SiebenbrodtFelix Rosenow

Abstract

In an aging society, epilepsy in old age will become a more and more relevant disease. The diagnosis is often difficult because of the frequent occurrence of focal seizures in old age, which are easily overlooked. The diagnosis is often delayed, particularly in older patients who, for example also suffer from dementia. The causes of the epilepsy can be manifold in the aging brain. Another challenge for neurologists is the medicinal treatment of geriatric epilepsy, as many anticonvulsive drugs can be associated with serious side effects and interactions. The evidence for the effectiveness and tolerability of anticonvulsive drugs in old age is insufficient, so that the choice of drugs must be made on an individual basis. Status epilepticus is a neurological emergency, which occurs not only more frequently in older than in younger persons but is also associated with a higher mortality, so that immediate diagnosis and adequate treatment is necessary.

References

Jan 1, 1992·Epilepsia·R J DeLorenzoD Ko
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Jun 12, 2009·Drug Metabolism Reviews·Ulrich Klotz
Sep 8, 2009·Epilepsia·Ettore BeghiW Allen Hauser
Mar 24, 2010·Journal of Neurology·Adam StrzelczykFelix Rosenow
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Feb 6, 2014·Acta Neurologica Scandinavica·H StefanF Kerling
Apr 16, 2014·Epilepsia·Robert S FisherSamuel Wiebe
May 18, 2016·Journal of Clinical Medicine·Stephane Legriel, Gretchen M Brophy
Jun 22, 2016·Seizure : the Journal of the British Epilepsy Association·Candice E CrockerMatthias H Schmidt
Jul 7, 2016·Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment·Shasha LiuYang Lü
Apr 27, 2018·Stroke; a Journal of Cerebral Circulation·Alexander E MerklerHooman Kamel
Aug 31, 2018·Epilepsia·Ilo E Leppik

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Citations

Feb 24, 2021·Drugs & Aging·Marian GalovicMatthias J Koepp
Nov 4, 2021·Der Nervenarzt·Bert-Ulrich KleineJörg Berrouschot

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