Epilepsy Affects People of All Ages, Including Seniors

IF YOU OR A LOVED ONE are experiencing epilepsy for the first time after age 65, you're not alone. Among seniors, epilepsy is one of the top three most common neurological conditions. In fact, epilepsy starts more often in old age than in middle age, reflecting the parallel increase over time of some of its causes – such as stroke, Alzheimer's disease and brain tumors.

Epilepsy poses special challenges for seniors. The first may be receiving the correct diagnosis. Gathering a clear description of the epileptic seizures may be difficult for seniors who live alone or in a residential care facility. Even if the seizures are witnessed or recorded on a smartphone, it may be difficult to recognize the signs, because seizures tend to look different in seniors than in younger people. They may be easily mistaken for other conditions that are common in seniors, such as stroke, dizziness and memory lapses. A neurologist can help uncover the problem and will likely perform an electroencephalogram, or EEG, and a brain MRI.

Read the full article here: https://health.usnews.com/health-care/for-better/articles/2018-08-17/epilepsy-affects-people-of-all-ages-including-seniors