AD and epilepsy in older adults are common diseases of the nervous system, with incidence rates increasing with age.2 Several studies have investigated the shared pathology and clinical relevance of AD and epilepsy.7-9 Additionally, the key pathology of AD – amyloid b (Ab) deposition outside neural cells, and accumulation of hyperphosphorylated tau-protein in neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) – has also been observed in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy.2,10,11
References:
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2.Zhang D, Chen S, Xu S, et al. The clinical correlation between Alzheimer’s disease and epilepsy. Front Neurol 2022; 13: 922535.
3.Zelano J, Brigo F, Garcia-Patek S. Increased risk of epilepsy in patients registered in the Swedish Dementia Registry. Eur J Neurol 2020; 27 (1): 129–135.
4.Tai XY, Torzillo E, Lyall DM, et al. Association of dementia risk with focal epilepsy and modifiable cardiovascular risk factors. JAMA Neurol 2023; 80 (5): 445–454.
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6.Høgh P, Smith SJ, Scahill RI, et al. Epilepsy presenting as AD: neuroimaging, electroclinical features, and response to treatment. Neurology 2002; 58 (2): 298–301.
7.Friedman D, Honig LS, Scarmeas N. Seizures and epilepsy in Alzheimer’s disease. CNS Neurosci Ther 2012; 18 (4): 285–294.
8.Giorgi FS, Saccaro LF, Busceti CL, et al. Epilepsy and Alzheimer’s disease: potential mechanisms for an association. Brain Res Bull 2020; 160: 107–120.
9.DiFrancesco JC, Tremolizzo L, Polonia V, et al. Adult-onset epilepsy in presymptomatic Alzheimer’s disease: a retrospective study. J Alzheimers Dis 2017; 60 (4): 1267–1274.
10.Puvenna V, Engeler M, Banjara M, et al. Is phosphorylated tau unique to chronic traumatic encephalopathy? Phosphorylated tau in epileptic brain and chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Brain Res 2016; 1630: 225–240.
11.Zheng P, Shultz SR, Hovens CM, et al. Hyperphosphorylated tau is implicated in acquired epilepsy and neuropsychiatric comorbidities. Mol Neurobiol 2014; 49 (3): 1532–1539.
