Amnesia: Causes & Reasons

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Possible Causes for Amnesia

Head Trauma

or severe (loss of consciousness or amnesia for more than 24 hours, subdural hematoma, or brain contusion). [content.nejm.org]

Post-traumatic amnesia in a worker presenting with head trauma must be recognised by coworkers, so the cause of injury can be elicited early and the victim gets timely medical [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Concussion: symptoms of amnesia and confusion. Duration of amnesia is predictive of injury severity. [patient.info]

Brain Concussion

A period of amnesia, or not recalling what has happened, is essential to the diagnosis of concussion. [brainfoundation.org.au]

Some individuals with concussion also have post-traumatic amnesia, meaning a loss of memory for events immediately after they regain consciousness. [weillcornellbrainandspine.org]

Concussion can lead to some or all of the following symptoms: a short period of unconsciousness (30 minutes or less), confusion, dizziness, amnesia (generally lasting less [brainfoundation.org.au]

Traumatic Brain Injury

This is the period of post-traumatic amnesia. The longer the duration of amnesia, the more severe the brain damage. [biami.org]

This period will approximate the duration of posttraumatic amnesia. [web.archive.org]

These problems become more common with increasing severity of brain injury as indicated by duration of loss of consciousness or of posttraumatic amnesia. [doi.org]

Alcohol Dementia

These are the characteristics of anterograde amnesia. Research shows that anterograde amnesia results from a failure of memory formation and storage. [dementiatoday.net]

In contrast, retrograde amnesia will aggravate disorientation in time, space and among other people. [symptoma.com]

Alcohol-related alcoholic dementia, also known as Korsakoff’s Syndrome, is characterized by amnesia, volatile mood changes, and balance problems that can lead to falls and [helpforalzheimersfamilies.com]

Benzodiazepine Overdose

CONCLUSION: Anterograde amnesia is present in suicide attempters who take overdoses of benzodiazepines. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

It provides anxiolysis, sedation, hypnosis, skeletal muscle relaxation, anterograde amnesia, respiratory depression and an anticonvulsant effect but has no analgesic properties [dentalcare.com]

One hundred and thirty patients responded positively to flumazenil, characterized by improved response to painful stimuli, and decreased amnesia. [mjiri.iums.ac.ir]

Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

Defining the phase of memory processing most relevant to this form of amnesia, and the roles of physiological and structural pathology, requires further research. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Autobiographical amnesia and accelerated forgetting in transient epileptic amnesia. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2005;76:1387–91. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

[…] demonstrate the diagnostic value of a nonvisual fMRI task to lateralize MTLE despite congenital blindness and may therefore contribute to the risk assessment for postsurgical amnesia [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

General Anesthesia

The patient moves from analgesia without amnesia to analgesia with amnesia Stage 2, or excitement stage: The period following a loss of consciousness, characterized by excited [medicalnewstoday.com]

Anesthesia causes amnesia. General anesthesia keeps you relaxed, blocks pain, and may also cause amnesia. [medicaldaily.com]

Under general anesthesia, the patient is unable to feel pain and may also have amnesia. [medicalnewstoday.com]

Transient Global Amnesia

In 1982, 16 patients experienced their first transient global amnesia. [doi.org]

Abstract We prospectively identified patients with transient global amnesia in an urban population of 163,000. [doi.org]

Rabinstein, Transient Global Amnesia, Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 10.1016/j.mayocp.2014.12.001, 90, 2, (264-272), (2015). [doi.org]

Alcoholic Amnestic Disorder

CM Diagnosis Code F44.0 Dissociative amnesia 2016 2017 2018 2019 Billable/Specific Code Type 1 Excludes amnesia NOS ( R41.3 ) anterograde amnesia ( R41.1 ) dissociative amnesia [icd10data.com]

There are multiple types of amnesia, including retrograde amnesia, anterograde amnesia, and transient global amnesia. [healthline.com]

Key words Amnesia Memory Mild cognitive impairment Transient global amnesia Wernicke–Korsakoff syndrome Preview Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF. [link.springer.com]

Wernicke Encephalopathy

(WE) is a medical emergency caused by thiamine deficiency, characterized by cerebellar ataxia, ophthalmoplegia, and cognitive disturbances that may progress to Korsakoff amnesia [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Korsakoff’s syndrome Characterised by: Anterograde amnesia (inability to form new memories) Retrograde amnesia (inability to remember old memories) Confabulation (fabricating [dundeemedstudentnotes.wordpress.com]

Of patients surviving WE, an important percentage will manifest WKS, characterized by the following: retrograde amnesia (inability to recall information), anterograde amnesia [emedicine.medscape.com]

Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome

Cholinergic cell loss reflected the severity of cognitive dysfunction, but was not exclusive to patients with amnesia. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Anterograde amnesia could therefore be the expression of damage to an extended hippocampal system, and the distinction between temporal lobe and diencephalic amnesia has limited [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

A neuropsychological evaluation at 14 months post-surgery revealed anterograde amnesia for verbal and visual-perceptual material. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Brain Contusion

We include athletes who have lost consciousness for more than five minutes or experienced amnesia for more than 24 hours in the Grade 5 category. [brighamhealthhub.org]

This is the period of posttraumatic amnesia. The longer the duration of amnesia, the more severe the brain damage. [msktc.org]

Other signs of mild trauma may include impaired sensory perception, temporary confusion or amnesia, and personality changes. [wisegeek.com]

Epilepsy with Generalized Tonic-Clonic Seizures

Blue skin color After the seizure, the person may have: Confusion Drowsiness or sleepiness that lasts for 1 hour or longer (called the post-ictal state) Loss of memory (amnesia [medlineplus.gov]

Total amnesia of the seizure. [dentalcare.com]

[…] breathing Blue lips Arched back After the seizure the patient may experience: Confusion Feeling sleepy or drowsy for 1 hour or longer (post-ictal state) Loss of memory (amnesia [cedars-sinai.edu]

Dissociative Amnesia

Dissociative amnesia is a disorder characterized by retrospectively reported memory gaps. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

[…] and recovered from an episode of dissociative amnesia and fugue. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Dissociative amnesia usually follows a stressful event and cannot be attributable to explicit brain damage. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Temporal Lobe Disorder

[…] of future-thinking and memory impairments in amnesia may be related. [jneurosci.org]

The difference between retrograde and anterograde amnesia is that retrograde amnesia is loss of memory from before an event. [patient.info]

By definition, amnesia occurs during a complex partial seizure because of bilateral hemispheric involvement. [emedicine.medscape.com]

Phencyclidine Intoxication

The prevalent clinical signs and symptoms were the following: retrograde amnesia, nystagmus, hypertension, and psychomotor agitation. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Phencyclidine Intoxication These are some of the common signs and symptoms of phencyclidine (PCP) intoxication: Desire to undress Belligerent behavior Hallucinations Confusion, amnesia [gomentor.com]

Higher doses produce amnesia and coma, with analgesia sufficient for surgery, and seizures with respiratory depression occur at the highest doses. [dsm.wikia.com]

Electroconvulsive Therapy

Bilateral ECT caused more marked amnesia for events and details than RUL ECT, and especially for impersonal memories. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

[…] single time point after ECT treatment may prove an effective and clinically useful method for monitoring the severity of disorientation and predicting ECT-induced retrograde amnesia [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Retrograde amnesia following electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a major concern for both patients and clinicians. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Electrocution by Lightning

Nervous : When the central nervous system is affected, a number of side effects can occur such as dementia, amnesia, temporary paralysis, impaired reflexes, memory gaps and [science.howstuffworks.com]

Unconsciousness and amnesia are common, and there may be transient paralysis of limbs or paresthesia. Cerebral infarction may occur from arrhythmia and embolization. [braininjury.com]

Retrograde amnesia is less common. [emsworld.com]

Electrical Injury

One year later, neurobehavioral, language and memory evaluations strongly suggested a dissociative component in the mutism and retrograde amnesia. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

A 30-year-old lady developed amnesia and spastic paraparesis with loss of pin prick sensation below the second thoracic spinal segment following electrocution. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Once she regained consciousness after 24 h, she was found to have amnesia about the event and weakness and loss of sensation of lower limbs. [nature.com]

Limbic Encephalitis

CONCLUSIONS: AK5-Abs should be systematically considered in aged patients with subacute anterograde amnesia. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

At onset, his memory disturbance manifested as transient global amnesia-like episodes. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

We report a case of limbic encephalitis in a 56-year-old man, revealed by anterograde amnesia. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Kleine-Levin Syndrome

During episodes, patients suddenly present hypersomnia (with sleep lasting 15-21 h/d), cognitive impairment (major apathy, confusion, slowness, amnesia), and a specific feeling [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

It is characterized by episodes lasting from 1 to several weeks, and comprises neurological (hypersomnia, confusion, slowness, amnesia) and neuropsychiatric symptoms (derealization [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

During episodes, patients with prolonged episodes had shorter sleep time, higher levels of anxiety, increased agitation, and more feelings of disembodiment and amnesia. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Hepatic Encephalopathy

between 30 and 45 percent of people with cirrhosis will develop some signs of hepatic encephalopathy, whether it be mild forms of forgetfulness or more severe bouts of amnesia [verywell.com]

Grade 3 : somnolent but rousable, unable to perform mental tasks, disorientation to time and place, marked confusion, amnesia, occasional fits of rage, speech is present but [oxfordmedicaleducation.com]

slow responses Asterixis, dysarthria, ataxia and hypoactive reflexes Triphasic waves (5 cycles/s) 3 Somnolence but rousable, confusion Disorientation as regards place; amnesia [dx.doi.org]

Temporal Lobe Tumor

The difference between retrograde and anterograde amnesia is that retrograde amnesia is loss of memory from before an event. [patient.info]

[9] Damage specifically to the anterior portion of the left temporal lobe can cause savant syndrome. [10] Disorders [ edit ] Pick's disease, also known as frontotemporal amnesia [en.wikipedia.org]

Anterograde amnesia is loss of memory between the event and the present time. [patient.info]

Cerebral Arteriosclerosis

[…] arteriosclerosis of the brain, the signs and symptoms of which may be neurological (such as aphasia, athetosis, chorea, dementia, parkinsonism), or cognitive and affective (such as amnesia [oxfordreference.com]

As arteriosclerotic brain disease progresses, amnesia tends to extend further into the past, embracing personal experience and general or common information. [britannica.com]

Transient global amnesia. Acta neurol. scand. 40, (suppl. 9) 7 (1964) Google Scholar Gänshirt, H. (Hrsg.): Der Hirnkreislauf. [link.springer.com]

Hypoglycemic Encephalopathy

Bilateral hippocampal damage causes Korsakoff's amnesia. [neuropathology-web.org]

anterograde amnesia, confabulations (invented memories), poor recall and disorientation. [4] Anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis is the most common autoimmune encephalitis. [en.wikipedia.org]

O A 52-year-old woman presented with low- grade fever, headache, disorientation, amnesia, bad response to communication, numbness in the right hand, blurred vision in the [slideshare.net]

Subacute Combined Degeneration of Spinal Cord

The syndrome has 2 components: Wernickes encephalopathy (WE), and Korsakoffs amnesia (KA). [neuropathologyweb.org]

An identical memory defect ( Korsakoff's amnesia ) is caused by bilateral hippocampal damage. [neuropathologyweb.org]

Anterograde amnesia has been reported in thalamic infarcts involving the mammillothalamic tracts (which project to the anterior thalamic nuclei). [neuropathologyweb.org]

Insulinoma

Neuroglycopenic symtoms oberserved in patients are headache, confusion, lethargy, diplopia, blurred vision, amnesia, seizures and in more severe cases unconsciousness. [symptoma.com]

Neuroglycopenia Adrenergic Diplopia (double vision) Weakness, warmth Blurred vision Sweating Confusion, Abnormal behavior Hunger Amnesia to Symptoms, Events Tremor Seizures [endocrinediseases.org]

[…] with diabetes treated with insulin who may show reduction in spontaneous movements and speech, somnolence, poor thinking and work performance, changes in personality and amnesia [patient.info]

Subdural Hematoma

Trauma Cause(s) In most cases, an injury to the top of the skull Symptoms Loss of consciousness, irritability, seizure, pain, numbness, headache, dizziness, disorientation, amnesia [house.wikia.com]

[…] injury Loss of consciousness or fluctuating levels of consciousness Irritability Seizures Pain Numbness Headache (either constant or fluctuating) Dizziness Disorientation Amnesia [neurolaw.com]

This period will approximate the duration of posttraumatic amnesia. [doi.org]

Herpes Simplex Encephalitis

In conclusion, the most frequent neurological sequelae were aphasia and amnesia. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Amnesia in temporal lobectomy patients: historical perspective and review. Seizure 1998 ;7(1):15–24. [pubs.rsna.org]

Severe anterograde and retrograde amnesia, naming deficits, perseverative behaviors and confabulations were observed on neuropsychological assessment. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Alcohol Hallucinosis

[…] frequently sleep disorders, transient cerebral ischemia, paroxysmal movement disorders, endocrine or metabolic dysfunction, delirium, psychiatric conditions or transient global amnesia [books.google.com]

Korsakoff’s Psychosis causes amnesia, apathy, confabulation, personality changes, and repetitive behaviors. [consumerhealthlabs.com]

and unable to learn new information (anterograde amnesia). [encyclopedia.com]