The Prevalence and Clinical Features of Epileptic Seizures in a Memory Clinic Population

Patients with dementia are at risk of developing epileptic seizures [1–5]. This was reported by Alzheimer himself in his description of Johann F in 1911 [6]. However, the extent to which this risk is increased has been disputed and remains unclear [7]. Estimates of the prevalence of epilepsy in patients with Alzheimer’s disease range from 0.5% [8] to 64% [9]. Moreover, whilst conventional wisdom has considered epilepsy to be a feature of advanced disease in these patients [10], more recent evidence has reported patients developing epilepsy early in the course of clinical disease [11] and in some cases even before a diagnosis is made [12].

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