Prevalence of seizures in people with Down’s syndrome is higher than the general population.
There are two peaks of incidence – during the first two years of life and between 20 and 30 years. However, some people develop them later in life.
As people with Down’s syndrome become older their chances of getting epilepsy increases. About 46% of people (nearly one in two) with Down’s syndrome who are older than the age of 50 have a diagnosis of epilepsy.
Individuals with Down’s syndrome who develop Alzheimer’s dementia have epilepsy much more often than individuals who don’t have Alzheimer’s dementia.
Seizures are generally very obvious, however, sometimes it can be diff icult to know if someone is having a seizure.