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Cerebral Autosomal Dominant Arteriolopathy with Subcortical Infarcts and Leucoencephalopathy (CADASIL) is a recently but increasingly recognized cause of migraine with aura, early and recurrent strokes, and dementia, with an autosomal pattern of transmission. The disease is a widespread vasculopathy, but it is clinically expressed in the CNS only. Cerebral MRI is always abnormal in symptomatic patients, and sometimes in asymptomatic but affected individuals. It shows more or less confluent hypersignals on T2-weighted and flair images. A spectrum of mutations in the Notch3 gene on chromosome 19 are responsible for the disease. There is no specific treatment and the prognosis is poor. We followed three patients from 2 families with genetically confirmed CADASIL and we present their clinical characteristics. We discuss current data on this rare, but non exceptional arteriolopathy.

Seizures starting in patients over 60 years old are frequent. Diagnosis is sometimes difficult and frequently under- or overrated. Cerebrovascular disorders are the main cause of a first seizure. Because of more frequent comorbidities, physiologic changes, and a higher sensitivity to drugs, treatment has some specificity in elderly people. The aim of this paper is to present the result of a consensus meeting held in October 2004 by a Belgian French-speaking group of epileptologists and to propose guidelines for the management and the treatment of epilepsy in elderly people.