Premium
Elderly People and Epilepsy: Cognitive Function
Author(s) -
Piazzini Ada,
Canevini Maria Paola,
Turner Katherine,
Chifari Rosanna,
Canger Raffaele
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
epilepsia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.687
H-Index - 191
eISSN - 1528-1167
pISSN - 0013-9580
DOI - 10.1111/j.1528-1167.2006.00884.x
Subject(s) - epilepsy , neuropsychology , cognition , medicine , psychology , effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance , pediatrics , psychiatry
Summary: Purpose: To evaluate cognitive function in a group of elderly patients with focal epilepsy versus healthy controls. Methods: A neuropsychological battery assessing major cognitive domains was administered to 40 patients with focal epilepsy aged ≥60 years, and to 40 controls matched for sex, age, and education. Results: Epilepsy patients performed significantly worse in most of the administered tests than controls (p < 0.05). Poor cognitive performances correlated with use of polytherapy. Conclusions: Given the high prevalence of epilepsy in the elderly, our results could have important implications for clinical and research purposes.