Transient Global Amnesia
Hippocampus in Brain
Transient global amnesia (TGA) is
a sudden onset of memory disorder or amnesia forgetfulness of
events. When this condition
comes on the person cannot
remember anything in the past
or present , the person may
has repeated questions like,
1) Who am I.
2) Where am I.
Once the answer is told they
still keep forgetting. This may last
a few minutes to hours which is
common but rare people may have
repeated episodes. The best
treatment is rest if any curry
powder, omega-3 or sedative is
available that will do the job and
the person will wake up fine the
next morning.
These questions are repeated
almost continuously in some
patients. Others may suddenly become
quiet.
The condition can last a few hour
or a few days and may was and wane
and will slowly improve. It may come
in attacks for a few days but will
eventually stop. This condition
Textbooks describe
this sudden, temporary disturbance
in an otherwise healthy person's
memory. The other main kinds of
amnesia are called anterograde and
retrograde amnesia. Anterograde
amnesia is a type of memory loss
associated with a trauma, disease,
or emotional events. It is
characterized by the inability to
remember new information.
Retrograde amnesia is associated
with the loss of distant memories
usually preceding a given trauma.
Thiamine deficiency
can also
cause amnesias and should be
evaluated in all such patients.
In transient global
amnesia, during the period of
amnesia, people suffering from the
disorder cannot remember recent
occurrences nor can they retain any
new visual or verbal information for
more than a couple minutes.
Though patients may or may not
remember their own identities, they
are often confused by their
surroundings and the people around
them. They continuously ask
questions about events that are
transpiring, for example where they
are, who is with them, what is
happening. However, once they are
told, they immediate forget the
answer, and repeat the question
again.
The period of amnesia can last
anywhere from one to twenty-four
hours. Some people suffer from a
headache, dizziness, and nausea
while others have only memory loss.
TGA generally affects fifty to
eighty-year-old men, about 3.4 to
5.2 people per 100,000 per year.
People afflicted with transient
global amnesia always recover and
can remember the memories that were
lost during the episode.
(Once they regain their memory,
some people, can recall both the
episode and the feeling of not being
able to remember. However, others
never recover the memories of the
attack nor the events immediately
before.
continue to next page of memory &
TGA |
