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Management of epilepsy in elderly
- Source :
- Journal of Gerontology and Geriatrics. 68:31-39
- Publication Year :
- 2020
- Publisher :
- Pacini Editore, 2020.
-
Abstract
- The prevalence of seizures and epilepsy in the elderly is generally underestimated. Epileptic seizures are not a rare occurrence in the elderly and their prevalence increases with age. The clinical manifestations of seizures, the aetiology, the treatment and the psychosocial impact of the epilepsy diagnosis may differ in the elderly. Differential diagnosis with episodes of unconsciousness and/or fall or other non-epileptic manifestations is often difficult. The presence of comorbidities, the polypharmatherapy and the age-related pharmacokinetic changes can represent a problem for the treatment of epilepsy in the elderly, with a higher risk of adverse effects and potentially inappropriate drug interactions. Epileptic seizures in the elderly can have semiological characteristics similar to those of other age groups. On the other hand, the richness of the electroclinical syndromes of childhood and adolescence is not found in the elderly, and, in particular, idiopathic generalized epilepsies are rarely expressed at this age. Symptomatic seizures related to acute structural injury or metabolic causes are particularly frequent. Therapy management of the elderly with an epileptic seizure should concern not only neurologists, but also general practitioners, geriatricians, and cardiologists, therefore involving a wide range of clinical specialties. This review aims to summarize the management of epilepsy in the elderly, reporting also differences in epidemiology, electroclinical features, aetiology and diagnostic procedures.
- Subjects :
- Aging
medicine.medical_specialty
Pediatrics
Epilepsy
business.industry
health care facilities, manpower, and services
Unconsciousness
Symptomatic seizures
social sciences
medicine.disease
Seizure
humanities
Older
Epidemiology
Etiology
medicine
Epileptic seizure
Geriatrics and Gerontology
medicine.symptom
Differential diagnosis
business
Psychosocial
Antiepileptic drug
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 24996564
- Volume :
- 68
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Journal of Gerontology and Geriatrics
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....dd08124af2d997c9d0db8e5604334787