People living with dementia are prone to developing seizures. A new study finds that health in those who do is more likely to decline faster, with death occurring at a younger age than in people living with dementia who don’t have seizures. Medication that prevents seizure may help to slow this decline, researchers say.
Investigators analyzed data from more than 26,000 people living with dementia recruited at 39 US Alzheimer’s disease centers. They looked for evidence of active seizures from 2005 to 2021.
The results painted a picture of risk for profound early decline, including relatively worsening cognitive health, mental health and daily functioning.
Early decline
Fully 1.4% of study participants had active seizures, defined as happening within the past year and/or requiring active treatment. Participants in this group began showing signs of cognitive decline at 63 years old when compared with 68 years old among those who didn’t have seizures. They also died younger, at age 73 compared with age 80 for those who didn’t have seizures.
Participants with seizures also were more likely to have a genetic mutation related to Alzheimer’s disease, to have had a stroke or traumatic brain injury, to have depression and/or to have relatively less education than their peers without seizures.
They also performed worse on the mini-mental status exam, which measures cognition, and were more likely to be dependent on others for help with activities of daily living.
Using antiseizure medications to control seizure activity in those patients may help to slow down the progression of cognitive impairment, said neurologist and study lead Ifrah Zawar, MD, of the University of Virginia School of Medicine in Charlottesville.
Seizures underreported
But clinicians may be held back by underreporting, she added. The signs of seizure can be subtle and mistaken for dementia symptoms in those people, Zawar said.
It’s important for healthcare providers and family members to recognize the patients at high risk for developing seizures and “ensure they are diagnosed and treated in a timely fashion,” she concluded.
Research shows that people with dementia are six to 10 times more likely to develop seizures than people without dementia, at a rate of 10% to 64%.
The study was scheduled to be presented at the American Epilepsy Society Annual Meeting, which started Dec. 2 and lasts until Dec. 6.
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