Epilepsy More Common With Frontotemporal Dementia

TUESDAY, June 10, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- Epilepsy is more common among those with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) than among people with Alzheimer disease (AD) or healthy controls, according to a study published online June 2 in JAMA Neurology.Annemari Kilpeläinen, M.D., from University of Eastern Finland in Kuopio, and colleagues conducted a case-control study to examine whether epilepsy is more prevalent in patients with FTD (245) than in matched healthy controls (2,416) or patients with AD (1,326). Analysis compared purchases of antiseizure medicines (ASMs).The researchers found that the prevalence of epilepsy was higher in the FTD group versus controls (3.3 versus 0.8 percent) and the AD group (3.3 versus 1.4 percent) 10 years before FTD diagnosis. At the year of the diagnosis, the prevalence was 6.5 percent for those with FTD, 1.8 percent for controls, and 5.0 percent in patients with AD. Five years following diagnosis, the prevalence was 11.2 percent in patients with FTD, 2.2 percent in controls, and 6.9 percent in patients with AD. At all time points, ASM purchases were made significantly more often among patients with FTD (10.2 percent) versus controls (1.8 percent) or patients with AD (4.2 percent) and increased during the study period. "Knowledge about the association between epilepsy and FTD raises new research questions: do these diseases share some pathophysiological mechanisms and could some FTD symptoms be caused by alterations in the specific electrical systems of the brain," Eino Solje, also from University of Eastern Finland, said in a statement.Several authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.Abstract/Full Text.Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter