Older adults have the highest risk of developing epilepsy compared to any other age group. Epilepsy that develops after age 55 is called late-onset epilepsy. In 30-50% of people with late-onset epilepsy, the cause of their epilepsy remains unexplained.
People with late-onset unexplained epilepsy have an increased risk for developing dementia and stroke. Yet, there are currently no available tools to predict which individuals are at highest risk, and no treatments known to prevent dementia or stroke in this group.
As epilepsy specialists taking care of many patients with late-onset unexplained epilepsy, we recognized a lack of medical knowledge and a lack of ongoing research needed for us to provide high-quality care for these patients. We are working together to change this. In 2020, we established the Consortium for Late-Onset Unexplained Epilepsy (CLUE), a multi-center research collaboration to advance knowledge and drive new treatment approaches for late-onset unexplained epilepsy.