Cognitive impairment accelerates, life expectancy shortened by 7 years ↑
A study has found that if elderly people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, the most common type of dementia, show seizures such as convulsions or staring blankly, their mental decline progresses much faster and they are much more likely to die early.
According to a study by the University of Virginia School of Medicine in the United States, when Alzheimer’s patients suddenly start to show seizure symptoms such as staring blankly with their eyes out of focus one day or shaking their limbs, their mental decline accelerates and their risk of dying about seven years earlier increases. appeared to be
“Unfortunately, seizures are easy to misdiagnose because the symptoms can be subtle and the patient appears confused,” said lead author of the study, Assistant Professor Ifra Zawwar of the University of Virginia School of Medicine. Caregivers, such as family members, often mistake seizures as typical symptoms of dementia and overlook them. Caregivers should be on the lookout for these seizure symptoms and inform their health care provider to slow the progression. Timely diagnosis and appropriate antiseizure medication should be prescribed.
The research team analyzed data from 39 Alzheimer’s disease research centers between 2005 and 2021. Out of 26,000 patients with Alzheimer’s disease, 374 (1.4%) had various seizures. Mental decline in people with seizure-prone Alzheimer’s began before the age of 63. This is about 5 years ahead of a non-seizure patient (68 years old). A person with Alzheimer’s who develops seizures has died at the age of 73. This is about 7 years ahead of a non-seizure patient (age 80).
Additionally, Alzheimer’s patients who developed seizures were associated with genetic mutations, stroke, traumatic brain injury and depression, and were more likely to have lower levels of education. Alzheimer’s patients who develop seizures have problems with thinking, communication, comprehension and memory. They also had greater difficulty with basic daily activities, such as eating, bathing, dressing, and using the bathroom. Seizures occur in 64% of people with dementia, and people with dementia are 6 to 10 times more likely to have seizures than people without dementia.
“We know that people with dementia are more likely to have seizures, and people who do have seizures are more likely to develop dementia,” said Zawwar. This should be viewed as a ‘chicken and egg problem’.”
The results of this study (Seizures Seem Tied to Faster Decline in People With Dementia) were presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Epilepsy (AES). It is considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal, and was introduced by the American health media ‘Health Day’.