When people think of epilepsy, they often think of a life-long condition that starts in childhood or as a young adult.
But what is less well known is that there is a second peak of epilepsy in the over 60s. This ‘late-onset’ epilepsy deserves as much attention and research investment as epilepsy in younger age groups.
There are many causes of seizures in older people, including strokes, head injuries, and tumours. A person’s risk of late-onset epilepsy can be increased by factors in midlife including high blood pressure, diabetes, and smoking. And epilepsy can go hand-in-hand with other neurological conditions like dementia.
But in a third of people with late-onset epilepsy, it’s not immediately obvious what has caused it.
Could seizures be an early warning signal?
Late-onset epilepsy may also be a sign of future problems with brain or heart health. For example, people with unexplained seizures in later life have an increased risk of stroke, but we don’t fully understand why this is the case.
Could unexplained epilepsy in later life represent an ‘early warning signal’ for other health problems, which might be prevented with early intervention?
This is something that Dr Josephine Mayer at the University of Liverpool is investigating. She was awarded a clinical research training fellowship, part-funded by the Epilepsy Research Institute, to help us better understand the link between vascular health and epilepsy. Her work could also reveal whether intervening early to treat seizures might prevent future strokes or heart attacks.
Working together to prioritise research
There’s a great deal we don’t understand about the specifics of late-onset epilepsy – and so there is a huge opportunity for research to make a big difference for people. To determine what research is needed, Professor Hedley Emsley, Dr Clare Gordon, and Dr Sanna Hannan are running a series of workshops to bring together people with lived experience and scientists, to share ideas and agree on priorities for research that will make the biggest impact.
The first patient and public involvement workshop took place on Friday 11 April and featured some of our Shape Network members. If you’re interested in learning more or becoming involved and shaping research related to late-onset epilepsy, please sign up to our Shape Network.
You can find more information in the team’s blog post, where these experts – some of whom are also part of our Task Force on Mortality, Morbidity & Risk – explain more about the collaboration for late-onset and vascular epilepsy research (CLOVER) and what they hope these workshops will achieve for people with late-onset epilepsy.
Helping people live seizure-free in later life
In the past, late-onset epilepsy may not have received the attention it deserves. But as people live longer, and experience multiple health problems, controlling seizures in later life is becoming increasingly important. In addition, considering seizures as a potential warning signal for other health problems also provides an opportunity to intervene early and improve people’s general health.
That’s why the Institute is keen to support research to find better ways to treat late-onset epilepsy, and make sure people remain seizure-free throughout their life.
Learn more about our work in the Mortality, Morbidity & Risk research theme.
