Transient epileptic amnesia

Patients with transient epileptic amnesia (TEA) present with a combination of anterograde and retrograde amnesia, confusion and repeated questioning which is similar to transient global amnesia (TGA) (1).

Patients with TEA:

• are more often male than female
• are usually more than 60 years old
• have a history of cardiovascular disease in half of cases
• have a high recurrence rate (2):
  • 3 attacks per year for TEA
  • contrast this with a 3% annual recurrence for TGA
• have patchy anterograde amnesia such that they may retrospectively recognise the attacks

The amnestic attack respond to standard anti-epileptic therapy.

Reference:

1. Corridan, BJ, et al. (2001). A case of sleeping and forgetting. BMJ 357, 524.
2. Zenman, A, Hodges, JR. (2000). In: Berrios, G, Hodges, JR eds. Memory disorders in psychiatric practice. Camb Univ Press. p187-203.