

To determine a cause, your health care provider will ask if the problem came on suddenly or slowly. Memory loss can be caused by many things. Such memory loss is due to other diseases. But normal aging does not lead to dramatic memory loss. It is normal to have some trouble learning new material or needing more time to remember it.

The only sequel to transient global amnesia is therefore psychological: people who have suffered from it may experience great anxiety following this fortunately momentary episode in the black hole.Normal aging can cause some forgetfulness. If the patient expresses concern to the doctor or neuropsychologist about the future development of their memory, no more cases of Alzheimer’s disease have been observed in victims of transient global amnesia than in the rest of the population. If the person is alone at the time of the seizure, they may not even have noticed their amnesia, only feeling unwell or anxious.Įight out of ten times someone who suffered from an episode of transient global amnesia will not experience another ever again. When the amnesia episode is over, it’s the black hole: you can’t remember what happened.
#TRANSIENT GLOBAL AMNESIA CAUSES FULL#
Consequences of transient global amnesiaįortunately, transient global amnesia is mild and the patient regains full capacity within a few hours. This sudden loss of memory mainly affects people between the ages of 50 and 70 and can occur afterįinally, transient Global Amnesia can be iatrogenic, that is to say, linked to the intake of certain substances such as alcohol, illicit drugs, barbiturates, or anticholinergic drugs such as sleeping pills, antihistamines, anti-nausea, etc. However, some triggering factors have been identified. To this day, the exact causes of amnesic stroke are still unknown. This explains why some people with transient global amnesia may continue to do what they were doing at the time of the stroke. On the other hand, procedural memory, which corresponds to the actions that we perform automatically (driving, cycling, swimming…), is spared. During this same acute phase, there is also retrograde amnesia, which corresponds to the inability to search for an old memory. In an amnesic stroke, it is this type of memory that is affected: the brain no longer records what is happening to us. However, we know that it all plays out in the hippocampus, this small area of the brain that houses episodic memory.Įpisodic memory is that which corresponds to our personal memories. To date, the mechanisms behind transient global amnesia are not clear. This will rule out other diagnoses such as amnesic stroke or seizure. Often the patient is taken to the hospital where the tests will show that there is… nothing to worry about. Given the shock and unexpected appearance, those around the victim can quickly panic. The patient seems lost, forgets what he or she has just done, and asks the same questions repeatedly. It can be confused with a cerebrovascular accident (stroke). This “breakdown” is spectacular: since it occurs suddenly, often for no apparent reason. Transient global amnesia is a neurological disorder characterized by a sudden and brief loss – 6 hours on average – of memory. After a visit to the nearest hospital emergency room, the reassuring verdict came: Nicole had suffered from transient global amnesia. Fearing the worse, her family members became highly concerned. “Have we been here for a long time?” she asked repeatedly. Nicole, 71, was at the beach with her family when suddenly she became confused about what she was doing there. This benign disorder, although spectacular, should always be followed by a medical visit. Very worrying for those who suffer from it and those around it, transient global amnesia corresponds to a sudden loss of memory for a short time, less than 24 hours.
