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Epilepsy and Seizures: Overview

Epilepsy and Seizures: Overview

Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disease marked by recurrent, unpredictable seizures. These seizures are caused by abnormal electrical discharges in the brain, leading to behavior, sensation, or consciousness alterations. They can also cause transient impairment of awareness, interfering with daily activities.
Various factors can trigger epilepsy, including genetic factors, brain damage, metabolic causes, and unknown etiology. Diagnosis of epilepsy involves electroencephalography (EEG), which...

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Elderly individuals encompass a diverse population with varying degrees of age-related physiological changes. Defining the elderly presents challenges, as the geriatric population is often arbitrarily categorized as individuals older than 65. However, many individuals in this group lead active and healthy lives, with an increasing number surpassing 85 years and falling into the older elderly category. Physiological changes associated with aging impact performance capacity and homeostatic...

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Age-related pharmacokinetic changes are extensively documented, but understanding age-related pharmacodynamic alterations is relatively limited. This knowledge gap can be partly attributed to the complexity of developing appropriate measures of drug responses compared to bioanalytical methods for determining drug concentrations.Most information regarding age-related differences in human pharmacodynamics originates from cross-sectional studies. However, these studies assume that observed mean...

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Updated: May 22, 2026

Electromagnetic Source Imaging in Presurgical Evaluation of Children with Drug-Resistant Epilepsy

Electromagnetic Source Imaging in Presurgical Evaluation of Children with Drug-Resistant Epilepsy

Published on: September 20, 2024

Epilepsy concerns in older patients.

Andrew S Blum¹

¹EEG Laboratory in the Comprehensive Epilepsy Program, Department of Neurology, Rhode Island Hospital, Providence 02909, USA. ablum@lifespan.org

Medicine and Health, Rhode Island

|April 27, 2012

Summary

Epilepsy is more common in older adults, posing unique diagnostic and management challenges. Careful consideration of mimics, comorbidities, and drug interactions is crucial for effective treatment in the elderly.

Area of Science:

Geriatric Medicine
Neurology
Clinical Pharmacology

Background:

Epilepsy incidence increases significantly in the elderly population compared to younger adults.
Diagnosing and managing epilepsy in older individuals presents distinct challenges.
Differential diagnosis is complicated by conditions mimicking seizures in this age group.

Purpose of the Study:

To highlight the specific demands in diagnosing and managing epilepsy in the elderly.
To emphasize the importance of considering various factors in treatment selection for elderly patients with epilepsy.
To address the prevalence and management of drug-drug interactions in this demographic.

Main Methods:

Review of current literature on epilepsy in the elderly.

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 22, 2026

Electromagnetic Source Imaging in Presurgical Evaluation of Children with Drug-Resistant Epilepsy

Electromagnetic Source Imaging in Presurgical Evaluation of Children with Drug-Resistant Epilepsy

Published on: September 20, 2024

Analysis of diagnostic challenges and mimics.

Evaluation of treatment considerations including metabolism, comorbidities, and side effects.

Main Results:

Elderly patients with epilepsy require specialized diagnostic approaches due to common mimics.
Treatment decisions must carefully weigh individual patient factors like metabolism and comorbidities.
High prevalence of drug-drug interactions necessitates proactive management strategies.

Conclusions:

Effective epilepsy management in the elderly demands a tailored approach.
Anticipating and mitigating drug-drug interactions is paramount for patient safety.
Further research into optimized therapeutic strategies for geriatric epilepsy is warranted.