RISK FACTORS OF EPILEPSY IN ELDERLY POPULATION: RETROSPECTIVE OBSERVATIONAL STUDY
RISK FACTORS OF EPILEPSY IN ELDERLY POPULATION: RETROSPECTIVE OBSERVATIONAL STUDY

Summary/Abstract: One of the 3rd most frequent neurological condition to be found in elderly is epilepsy. Yet there is an ongoing debate regarding the differentiation among epilepsy and several seizure disorders to be found in elderly patients. In this regard, research findings implied a highly associated nexus between stroke and early seizures and epilepsy at elderly patients. Main objective of this study is to determine the prevalence and the etiology of epilepsy in elderly diagnosed in our clinic.Included are data from all patients who were diagnosed with epilepsy from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2019 in University Clinic of neurology, Skopje. A systematic search of the HIS identified all subjects with a diagnosis code for Epilepsy. Analyzed were the most common risk factors that appear as the main causes of epilepsy, the type of seizures and AEDs that the patients were treated with. Statistical software was used for statistical analysis. 93 patients were diagnosed with Epilepsy, 28 females and 65 males. 48 patients diagnosed with Epilepsy aged 60 to 69, 14 patients aged 70 to 79 years, 12 patients aged 80 to 89, and 1 patient over 90 years old. The most common etiology for the occurrence of epilepsy is of unknown cause, 34 patients, 36.6%. The second common risk for the development of epilepsy is stroke, 26 patients, 28%. The third cause is brain tumor, 25 patients, 26.9%, followed by 7 patients with dementia and Parkinson's disease and one with cerebral palsy. The most common types of epileptic seizures among subjects are focal seizures. The most common type of AEDs that the patients used was Carbamazepine. There is a differentiation regarding the common semiology of seizures in elderly patients and younger patients. Therefore, a need for a proper chosen AEDs suitable for the elderly patients should be taken into consideration. Reported is strong association between epilepsy and stroke, brain tumors and dementia. In our patients the most frequent etiology of epilepsy is to be the cryptogenic.

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