Amnesia Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Amnesia, including details on memory loss, causes, treatment, brain injury,.

New insights into transient global amnesia: recent imaging and clinical findings.

Sander K, Sander D

Department of Neurology of the Technical University of Munich, Germany. K.Sander@neuro.med.tu-muenchen.de <K.Sander@neuro.med.tu-muenchen.de>

Transient global amnesia (TGA) is one of the most striking syndromes in clinical neurology. Despite several new hypotheses concerning TGA pathogenesis-including psychological disturbances, personality traits, and hypoxic-ischaemic origin associated with venous congestion in memory relevant structures or small vessel changes-there is no consensus about the cause. New imaging techniques, particularly diffusion-weighted imaging, open up new insights into the location of TGA pathology. Studies with dynamic venous duplex sonography confirmed the importance of jugular-vein-valve insufficiency. We review these new findings and their implications for a better understanding of this remarkable syndrome. Although we still do not have all the answers, the use of new imaging modalities, neuropsychological findings, and epidemiological data may in future help to unravel the origin of TGA.

Published 20 June 2005 in Lancet Neurol, 4(7): 437-44.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2004-2008 Amnesia Research Today. All Rights Reserved.