ABSTRACT

The incidence of epilepsy is high among elderly patients and rises up as the population gets older. The seizure semiology is different than the younger adults and difficult to recognize. In this study, we investigated the specialities of the epileptic seizures in the patients older than 65 years old.

We analyzed retrospectively 196 patients who are older than 65 years old and were followed in the outpatient epilepsy clinic for at least two years.

In 196 patients, 80 had focal seizures, 102 had jeneralized seizures and 14 had undefined seizures. Post-stroke seizures in 112 patients were at the first line in etiology. Seizures were responsive to treatment as monotherapy in 148 patients and as politherapy in 48 patients.

Instead of recognizing difficultly the seizures in the elderly, the treatment control is not hard and monotherapy is enough for many patients.

Keywords: Epilepsy, seizure type, treatment, elderly patients