Late-onset unexplained epilepsy and dementia risk
Official title: Late-onset Unexplained Epilepsy as a Risk Factor for Dementia
Funded at Massachusetts General Hospital · NIH-11298920 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at people who start having unexplained seizures after age 55 to find which individuals are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s or other dementias.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Massachusetts General Hospital NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2023 |
| Project end | February 28, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $2,773,016 |
| NIH project number | 5R01NS130119-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11298920 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are people aged about 55 or older who have recently developed epilepsy without a clear cause and who do not already have dementia.
✕Less likely to help
People whose seizures have a known cause (for example, stroke or tumor), those with childhood-onset epilepsy, or those who already have dementia are unlikely to benefit directly from this project.
What this research studies
If you join, researchers will collect detailed clinical information, brain scans, and dementia-related biomarkers and follow your thinking and memory over time. They will combine seizure features, imaging, fluid biomarkers, and cognitive tests to sort people into biological subtypes. The team will look for hidden Alzheimer’s or blood-vessel-related brain changes that might explain why some people with late-onset seizures later get dementia. The goal is to use this data-driven approach to predict risk and point toward targeted ways to prevent dementia.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help identify which patients with late-onset unexplained epilepsy are at high risk for dementia and lead to earlier, more personalized prevention strategies.
How similar studies have gone: Previous research has shown that late-onset unexplained epilepsy is linked to higher dementia risk and Alzheimer-type brain changes, but using comprehensive biomarker-driven subtyping to predict individual risk is a newer approach.
Where this research is happening
-
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Lam, Alice D — Massachusetts General Hospital
- Study coordinator: Lam, Alice D
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Investigating the link between late-onset epilepsy and dementia risk
This study is looking at how people over 55 who develop epilepsy for no clear reason might be at a higher risk for Alzheimer's and other types of dementia, and it aims to find ways to help prevent these conditions in those individuals.
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Investigating late-onset unexplained epilepsy as a risk factor for dementia
This study is looking at how late-onset unexplained epilepsy in people over 55 might raise the chances of developing Alzheimer's and other types of dementia, so we can find out who is most at risk and create better treatments to help them.
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.