Dementia Japan 31:47-55, 2017

Epileptic amnesia in the memory clinic

Kazuhiro Muramatsu

Department of Neurology, Tokyo Dental College Ichikawa General Hospital

Forgetfulness is the primary symptom in some cases of partial epilepsy involving elderly individuals.  Complex partial seizures accompanied by symptoms, including freezing of movement, oral automatism, and stereotypic movement disorders, are observed.  The scores on neuropsychological tests are normal scores for patients' ages.  Intermittent electroencephalogram (EEG) abnormalities are found 3-6% in outpatients at memory clinic.  Treatment with low doses anti-epileptic agents result in improvement.  Some elderly individuals with suspected dementia and a chief complaint of forgetfulness may have partial epilepsy, but this condition can be diagnosed based on medical history and EEG findings.  Since responses to low doses of anti-epileptic agents highly favorable, diagnosis of this condition is of great importance.

Address correspondence to Dr. Kazuhiro Muramatsu, Department of Neurology, Tokyo Dental College Ichikawa General Hospital (5-11-13 Sugano, Ichikawa-city, Chiba 272-8513, Japan)