Elderly people and epilepsy : cognitive function

PURPOSE: To evaluate cognitive function in a group of elderly patients with focal epilepsy versus healthy controls. METHODS: A neuropsychological battery assessing major cognitive domains was administered to 40 patients with focal epilepsy aged > or = 60 years, and to 40 controls matched for sex, age, and education. RESULTS: Epilepsy patients performed significantly worse in most of the administered tests than controls (p < 0.05). Poor cognitive performances correlated with use of polytherapy. CONCLUSIONS: Given the high prevalence of epilepsy in the elderly, our results could have important implications for clinical and research purposes