title: The psychosocial impact of epilepsy in older people.
abstract: Given a prevalence of 0.5-1%, the epilepsies belong to the most common of neuropsychiatric diseases. Many clinicians think of the epilepsies as an entity beginning in early in life. However, the peak incidence of epilepsy in the developed world is now in the age group beyond 60 years. This population has thus an increasing importance; and in this paper we review and summarize the specific aspects of the clinical presentation, etiology, diagnosis, and treatment of older-age patients with epilepsy. In particular, we focus on the specific psychosocial impact that epilepsy has on the life of older people and their carers.
authors.affiliation: Section for Experimental Neuropsychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Freiburg, Hauptstr. 5, 79104 Freiburg, Germany. tebartzvanelst@uniklinik-freiburg.de
authors.forename: Ludger
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tebartz van Elst
authors.forename: Gus
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.forename: Mike
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kerr
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D005853:Geriatrics; D006801:Humans; D012922:Social Change