Semiology

Partial Epilepsy of Long Duration: Changing Semiology with Age
Paolo Tinuper 1 , Federica Provini 1 , Carla Marini 1 , Angelina Cerullo 1 , Giuseppe Plazzi 1 , Patrizia Avoni 1 Agostino Baruzzi 1
1 Neurological Institute, University of Bologna, Bologna Italy
Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. P. Tinuper at Clinica Neurologica. Universita di Bologna, Via Ugo Foscolo 7, 40123 Bologna, Italy.
Presented in part at the Symposium, "Seizures and Epilepsy in the Elderly," Coral Gables, Florida, March 4–5, 1994.

Copyright 1996 International League Against Epilepsy
KEYWORDS
Partial epilepsy • Prognosis • Semiology • Elderly
ABSTRACT


There are few data on changing patterns of localization-related epileptic syndromes with time and particularly on changes in seizure semiology as patients age. We retrospectively reviewed 53 patients aged >60 years who had had partial epileptic seizures for a mean duration of 44 years. In 20 patients, seizures became progressively less elaborate and briefer with time. In 29 patients, seizures were unchanged. In four patients, seizures worsened, with the appearance of drop attacks, secondarily generalized seizures, increasing drug resistance, and mental deterioration. These latter 4 patients had cerebrovascular disease with multiple strokes.