Transient epileptic amnesia

Transient epileptic amnesia is an adult onset form of temporal epilepsy which is characterised by recurrent acute seizure-induced amnesia often accompanied by ongoing memory disturbances of autobiographical, topographical amnesia and accelerated long-term forgetting. The first case report of transi...

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Main Authors: J. S. Anužytė, G. Rutkauskaitė, R. Mameniškienė
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Vilnius University Press 2018-09-01
Series:Neurologijos seminarai
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Online Access:https://www.journals.vu.lt/neurologijos_seminarai/article/view/27829
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author J. S. Anužytė
G. Rutkauskaitė
R. Mameniškienė
author_facet J. S. Anužytė
G. Rutkauskaitė
R. Mameniškienė
author_sort J. S. Anužytė
collection DOAJ
description Transient epileptic amnesia is an adult onset form of temporal epilepsy which is characterised by recurrent acute seizure-induced amnesia often accompanied by ongoing memory disturbances of autobiographical, topographical amnesia and accelerated long-term forgetting. The first case report of transient epileptic amnesia was described more than a hundred years ago. However, more extensively investigations of this type of epilepsy were started not long ago. In 1998 diagnostic criteria were formulated: 1) history of recurrent witnessed episodes of transient amnesia; 2) cognitive functions other than memory are judged to be intact during typical episodes by a reliable witness; 3) evidence for a diagnosis of epilepsy, provided by one or more of the following: (a) wake or sleep electroencephalography; (b) the co-occurrence of other seizure types (if their roughly concurrent onset and/or close association with episodes of transient amnesia suggested a connection); (c) a clear-cut response to anticonvulsant therapy. From case reports that are analysed in literature it is not difficult to summarise clinical characteristics: transient epileptic amnesia usually starts later in life, more often in men than in women; amnestic episodes are brief, recurrent and often occur upon waking; memory loss is usually mixed type with anterograde and retrograde amnesia; in 65% of patients amnesia is associated with gustatory or olfactory hallucinations, déjà vu, a brief period of unresponsiveness, automatisms; epileptiform abnormalities on electroencephalography were seen in 43% cases; although transient epileptic amnesia has an excellent response rate to anticonvulsant therapy, between episodes patients still suffer from accelerated long-term forgetting, remote memory impairment and topographical amnesia. Differential diagnostic of transient epileptic amnesia is diverse and diagnosis is usually inaccurate and overdue. Treatment with monotherapy often helps totally prevent recurrence of attacks. In the paper we review two case reports of patients with transient epileptic amnesia.
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spelling doaj-art-9b211e798ebf49419132bff5c986f42b2025-01-20T18:23:10ZengVilnius University PressNeurologijos seminarai1392-30642424-59172018-09-01223(77)10.29014/ns.2018.26Transient epileptic amnesiaJ. S. Anužytė 0G. Rutkauskaitė 1R. Mameniškienė 2Vilnius University, LithuaniaVilnius University, LithuaniaVilnius University, Lithuania Transient epileptic amnesia is an adult onset form of temporal epilepsy which is characterised by recurrent acute seizure-induced amnesia often accompanied by ongoing memory disturbances of autobiographical, topographical amnesia and accelerated long-term forgetting. The first case report of transient epileptic amnesia was described more than a hundred years ago. However, more extensively investigations of this type of epilepsy were started not long ago. In 1998 diagnostic criteria were formulated: 1) history of recurrent witnessed episodes of transient amnesia; 2) cognitive functions other than memory are judged to be intact during typical episodes by a reliable witness; 3) evidence for a diagnosis of epilepsy, provided by one or more of the following: (a) wake or sleep electroencephalography; (b) the co-occurrence of other seizure types (if their roughly concurrent onset and/or close association with episodes of transient amnesia suggested a connection); (c) a clear-cut response to anticonvulsant therapy. From case reports that are analysed in literature it is not difficult to summarise clinical characteristics: transient epileptic amnesia usually starts later in life, more often in men than in women; amnestic episodes are brief, recurrent and often occur upon waking; memory loss is usually mixed type with anterograde and retrograde amnesia; in 65% of patients amnesia is associated with gustatory or olfactory hallucinations, déjà vu, a brief period of unresponsiveness, automatisms; epileptiform abnormalities on electroencephalography were seen in 43% cases; although transient epileptic amnesia has an excellent response rate to anticonvulsant therapy, between episodes patients still suffer from accelerated long-term forgetting, remote memory impairment and topographical amnesia. Differential diagnostic of transient epileptic amnesia is diverse and diagnosis is usually inaccurate and overdue. Treatment with monotherapy often helps totally prevent recurrence of attacks. In the paper we review two case reports of patients with transient epileptic amnesia. https://www.journals.vu.lt/neurologijos_seminarai/article/view/27829transient epileptic amnesiatransient amnesiatemporal epilepsymemory
spellingShingle J. S. Anužytė
G. Rutkauskaitė
R. Mameniškienė
Transient epileptic amnesia
Neurologijos seminarai
transient epileptic amnesia
transient amnesia
temporal epilepsy
memory
title Transient epileptic amnesia
title_full Transient epileptic amnesia
title_fullStr Transient epileptic amnesia
title_full_unstemmed Transient epileptic amnesia
title_short Transient epileptic amnesia
title_sort transient epileptic amnesia
topic transient epileptic amnesia
transient amnesia
temporal epilepsy
memory
url https://www.journals.vu.lt/neurologijos_seminarai/article/view/27829
work_keys_str_mv AT jsanuzyte transientepilepticamnesia
AT grutkauskaite transientepilepticamnesia
AT rmameniskiene transientepilepticamnesia