This study has concluded that some epilepsy medications can increase the risk of dementia but it doesn’t say which drugs. Does anyone know any more about this? I’m considering looking at reducing my medication or even stopping it with support. Does anyone know what impact having seizures has on the brain? I’m wondering if the seizures themselves could increase the chances of dementia or even damage brain function. I have tonic clonic seizures & started when I was 43. I’m lucky enough to have only had 4 seizures in 8 years. They have been controlled by 1000mg levetiracetam a day initially & neurologist said I could stop if I wanted after being seizure free for 2 years. Instead I tried reducing the dose to 500mg a day & after a while I had a seizure so went back up to 750mg & have been ok with this. Any help or thoughts would be much appreciated
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Dobradee
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Thank you for your question. It can be worrying when you see research that may affect you.
The research study quoted in this article looked at a possible association between a group of medicines called anticholinergics and dementia. The epilepsy medicines included in this study were carbamazepine and oxcarbazepine, as these are the only ones considered to be anticholinergic. Levetiracetam is not considered to be anticholergenic, so this study does not relate to the medicine you take.
The medicines they included in the study are listed in Table 1 of the supplementary content: cdn.jamanetwork.com/ama/con...
We checked this research with an epilepsy specialist neurologist at the time it was published. His opinion was that the research showed an association between these medicines and dementia, but this does not prove that the medicines are the cause. For example, the conditions that people were being treated for could themselves increase the risk of developing dementia. And people who are already being seen by a doctor for another condition may also be more likely to be diagnosed with dementia, as the signs may be spotted earlier. The specialist also pointed out that carbamazepine and oxcarbazepine do not have a strong anticholergenic effect.
A slightly more recent evidence review did not find any evidence that epilepsy medicines increase the risk of dementia: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/320...
Some studies have found that people with epilepsy are at greater risk of developing dementia later in life. But the links between epilepsy and dementia aren’t fully understood and it isn’t clear whether having seizures can cause dementia. It may be instead that the two conditions just share common risk factors. For example, if an older person has a stroke, this could increase their risk of both epilepsy and dementia. More research is needed to better understand the relationship between epilepsy and dementia.
If you are concerned about this, you could contact your doctor for advice. It’s important to get guidance from an epilepsy specialist before deciding whether to make any changes to your medicine.
Thank you so much for this information & the link to the full study. I can’t tell you how much that’s put my mind at rest. Is there any studies that you know that show that seizures in of themselves damage areas of the brain?
Certainly having had Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy for over fifty years, and have early dementia, having medication from 1970 to the present day. I have irreputable brain damage caused by a double seizure in 2018, having had over 400 seizures in that time, so it would be hard to say what caused my condition now the seizures or the side effects of the many epilepsy medications, certainly having had every rib broken in my body, and broken my skull at least three times!🥴🥴🤔
One of my specialist's a fulcrum to my medical needs, I have a very rare condition Schwannomatosis NF3, she is essentially my listener of my needs, which admittingly can be a bit OTT sometimes, but she can "support" me, and a good friend into the bargain!
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