Clinical researchers are looking for markers that can predict the risk of cognitive impairment in patients with epilepsy

The Epilepsy Unit of the University Hospital of Navarra has launched a clinical study aimed at establishing biological markers to assess the risk of developing cognitive impairment in patients with epilepsy associated with this disease. It is estimated that 60 to 70% of these people suffer from cognitive problems, especially memory loss.

“Until a few years ago, treatment for epilepsy consisted solely of controlling epileptic seizures, but We observe that a large percentage of patients develop memory or attention problems that significantly limit their quality of life, sometimes with consequences more serious than even the seizures themselves.“, admits Dr. Asier GomezSpecialist in the Department of Neurology at the University Hospital of Navarra.

The aim of this study, funded by the Carlos III Institute of Health, dependent on the Ministry of Science and Innovation, is investigate this cognitive impairment associated with epilepsy using biomarkers similar to those used for early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease – tau proteins and beta-amyloid. Three tests are performed to identify this cognitive impairment: a complete cognitive assessment, a cerebrospinal fluid sample taken through a lumbar puncture, and a specific MRI of the brain.

“Through this process, we aim to determine whether the cognitive problems that patients report to us are due to the neurodegenerative process associated with epilepsy or to other factors, such as medications. This advance will also allow us to intervene early and treat this cognitive change using tools such as cognitive rehabilitation.“, Add.

The study is currently open to patients with temporal lobe epilepsy aged 40 to 70 years.

Cognitive rehabilitation

Some of the most common cognitive changes associated with epilepsy are difficulty remembering information such as conversations or recent events, finding the right word, or slowness in completing tasks. All of these complications that affect daily life may be cognitive disorders caused by a combination of factors, such as the seizures themselves, the medications used to treat them, or mood disorders.

The people most affected, experts note, tend to be the oldest, with several years of illness and a high frequency of seizures, and therefore those who have been on medication the longest. To prevent or mitigate these deficiencies, Cognitive rehabilitation is a therapeutic alternative aimed at improving cognitive function in general and each of its areas in particular, such as memory, executive functions, attention, language and visuospatial functions.

“This rehabilitation has specific goals tailored to each patient. Exercises are performed to strengthen the underlying processes affected, so that the neural network involved in the altered function is retrained.. In other cases, there are compensatory strategies aimed at helping the patient learn functional activities for daily living, even if the altered function does not specifically improve,” explains Dr. Dr. Teresa Rognoni

neuropsychologist at the clinic’s neurology department.

Through individualized neuropsychological rehabilitation, each patient and family member is better able to cope with cognitive and behavioral changes and their impact on daily life is reduced.

According to the Spanish Society of Neurology, around 400,000 people suffer from epilepsy in Spain and up to 22,000 new cases are diagnosed every year. In Europe, about 6 million people suffer from this neurological pathology.