[Frequency and semeiological evolution of epileptic seizures occurring between 40 and 65 years of age (author's...

458 patients who had their first epileptic fit between the ages of 40 and 65 are classified into 5 groups according to the seizure symptomatology: when the symptomatology remains unchanged, the frequency of fits is less than 1 per month in 84% of generalized fits and more than 1 per month in 52% of focal fits. When the symptomatology changes, the frequency of fits is less than 1 per month when the inaugural fit is generalized (23 out of 27) and more than 1 per month when the inaugural fit is focal (15 out of 21). Modifications of the symptomatology correlate positively with a prevalence of tumor aetiology. Primary generalized epilepsies are rare (4.4%). Non-specific secondary generalized epilepsies (including vascular, metabolic or toxic encephalopathies) account for 24.4% of the cases. Focal epilepsies are the most common form (40.7%), elementary fits being four times more frequent than complex fits.