TUESDAY, July 13 (HealthDay News) -- People with Alzheimer's
disease appear to be at increased risk for seizures, researchers
have found.
In the study, researchers analyzed data from almost 15,000
Alzheimer's disease patients in the United Kingdom, aged 50 and
older, and compared the data with that from an age-matched control
group of the same number of people without Alzheimer's disease. The
Alzheimer's patients were followed for an average of 2.3 years
while those in the control group were followed for an average of
3.4 years.
During the follow-up, the incidence rate of seizures among the
Alzheimer's patients was 9.1 per 1,000 people per year, compared
with 1.4 for those in the control group. That means the incidence
rate of seizures was 6.4 times higher for Alzheimer's patients, the
study authors explained in a news release from the Alzheimer's
Association.
The researchers also found that the seizure incidence rate was
highest among the youngest Alzheimer's patients and decreased with
age. In the control group, the incidence rate of seizures increased
slightly with age, they noted.
While the increased risk of seizures is cause for concern among
all Alzheimer's patients, the substantially increased risk among
younger patients means that they and their caregivers need to be
especially aware of the problem, the study authors pointed out.
"The connection between Alzheimer's and seizures provides additional avenues for research into the basic biology of both diseases, and possibly interventions and therapies to respond to the overall impact of Alzheimer's disease," study author H. Michael Arrighi, of Janssen Alzheimer Immunotherapy Research & Development in the San Francisco Bay area, stated in the news release.
The study was scheduled to be presented Tuesday at the
Alzheimer's Association International Conference on Alzheimer's
Disease, in Honolulu.
More information
The U.S. National Institute on Aging has more about
Alzheimer's disease.