- is a sudden, temporary interruption of short-term memory. Although patients may be disoriented, not know where they are or be confused about time, they are otherwise alert, attentive and have normal thinking abilities.
- The diagnosis is largely a diagnosis of exclusion.
- global amnesia
- Sudden
- Temporary
- loss of short-term memory
- not being able to form new memories
- Remember their own identity, do not lose self-awareness
- No focal neurolgoical symptoms
- Symptoms include:
- Anxiety and agitation
- Repeatedly asking questions about what is happening
- Retaining personal identity during the episode
- Able to complete complex routine tasks during the episode
- Absence of signs suggesting damage to the brain tissue
- Episodes end in 1-8 hours, no more than 24
- Causes and Risk Factors
- The cause of transient global amnesia is unknown.
- People older than 50 are more likely to experience TGA.
- Research suggests there also may be a link between patients who have a history of migraines and those who experience TGA.
- In most cases, there is no activity that triggers a transient global amnesia episode.
- In rare cases, certain events can trigger an episode, including:
- Hard physical activity
- Sexual intercourse
- Sudden exposure to very hot or very cold water
- Emotional stress
- Mild head trauma
- Differential Diagnosis
- Basilar artery thrombosis
- Cardioembolic stroke/ischemic stroke/transient ischemic attack
- Complex partial seizures
- Lacunar syndrome
- Migraine variants
- Posterior cerebral artery strok
- Syncope
- Temporal lobe epilepsy
- intoxication on substance
- Wernicke encephalopathy
- toxic encephalopathy
- hypoxia
- head injury
- If significant vascular risk factors – consider TIA – but very unlikely presentation
- Observe in hospital until amnesia resolves
- If systemically unwell consider encephalitis
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