Epilepsy and Seniors

Epilepsy is a common neurological condition affecting between 1% and 2% of the population. Seizures are more common in older adults. Outside young children, seniors are often the most frequently impacted with seizures. Despite this fact, seizures are often overlooked and mistakenly diagnosed as one of the other conditions that occur in the older population. Stroke is one of the major causes of injury to brain nerve cells, leading to scarring and an ‘irritable area’ in the damaged tissue. The injured nerve cells are more prone to electrical instability, consequently leading to seizure activity.

Seizures may present in many forms. The most common seizures experienced in the older age group are focal seizures (formerly called partial seizures). These may progress to involve the whole brain and present as a tonic clonic seizure.

People who have frequent events of loss of memory, language changes, loss of consciousness, tremor, sensory or numbness changes, should consider whether they are having seizures.

Living with epilepsy can result in personal challenges, but it does not have to result in an inability to have a full and independent life. Learning about epilepsy and sharing that information with others, finding the medical treatment that is best for you, and pursuing what matters in your life are all important.

For more information, contact your GP or visit www.epilepsy.org.nz