Comparison of new-onset and persistent epilepsy in the elderly

Background Previous studies on elderly epilepsy included only patients with new-onset disease, but there are many patients who developed epilepsy earlier and aged. Aim We compared the characteristics of new-onset and persistent epilepsy in the elderly. Methods We performed a 10-year retrospective analysis of elderly patients with epilepsy divided into two groups according to the onset of seizure: new-onset epilepsy (onset age >= 65) and persistent epilepsy (onset age<65). Results Nearly half (78/172, 45.3%) of patients in the new-onset group presented as status epilepticus, and one-fourth of these (19/78, 24.4%) died during the initial treatment for status epilepticus. Patients in the new-onset epilepsy group presented more frequently as status epilepticus (59/153 vs 12/78, P < 0.001) and had a past history of status epilepticus (63/153 vs 20/78, P = 0.02). History of stroke (81/153 vs 30/78, P = 0.04), hypertension (83/153 vs 29/78, P = 0.01), and dyslipidemia (53/153 vs 17/78, P = 0.05) was more common in the new-onset group, but patients in the persistent group used more antiepileptic drugs (AEDs; P = 0.036) and total AED drug loads (P = 0.028). Conclusions Our study shows that new-onset epilepsy has a higher incidence of status epilepticus and more stroke-related risk factors but may require fewer AEDs for epilepsy control.