Abstract
By 2050, elderly people (older than 60. years) will exceed 30% of the total world population. It is now recognized that this population has a high incidence of seizures and epilepsy. Possible reasons include enhanced seizure predisposition, medical comorbidities, structural changes of the brain related to aging, and synergistic effects of concurrent medications. Underlying conditions in aging patients may modify the expression of seizures that have been chronically present in the younger individual, or the aged brain may develop seizures de novo. Metabolism of antiepileptic drugs may be also significantly different in the elderly, with drug interactions becoming a serious issue. The few models in aged animals (mice and rats) that have been investigated to date confirm an increased susceptibility of the aged brain to develop seizures. More research is needed on mechanisms of increased seizure propensity in elderly, and on anticonvulsant drug effects on the aging brain.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Encyclopedia of Basic Epilepsy Research |
| Publisher | Elsevier Inc. |
| Pages | 37-40 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9780123739612 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 1 2009 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Aging
- Epilepsy
- Fisher 344 rat
- Life expectancy
- Population
- Seizure
- Senescent mouse
- Stroke
- Trauma
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Medicine(all)
- Neuroscience(all)