Transient global amnesia
Transient global amnesia (TGA) is a rare neurological syndrome characterized by the sudden onset of anterograde amnesia, in which individuals cannot form new memories, accompanied by mild retrograde amnesia affecting recall of recent events and a state of temporary confusion or disorientation, typically lasting between 1 and 10 hours but not exceeding 24 hours, with full spontaneous recovery and no persistent neurological deficits.[1][2][3] The condition most commonly affects adults aged 50 to 80, with an annual incidence of approximately 5 to 10 cases per 100,000 people in the general population, rising to 23 to 32 per 100,000 among those over 50, and showing no significant gender predominance.[1][2] Symptoms include repetitive questioning about one's whereabouts or recent activities due to impaired short-term memory, while personal identity, language skills, and immediate attention remain intact, distinguishing TGA from more severe conditions like stroke or epilepsy.[1][3] During an episode, affected individuals appear alert but bewildered, often preserving awareness of their amnesia itself.[2] The exact cause of TGA remains unknown, though it is considered benign and self-limited, with proposed mechanisms involving transient dysfunction in the hippocampus—a brain region critical for memory formation—possibly due to metabolic stress, reduced blood flow, venous congestion, or excitatory toxicity.[1] Potential triggers include physical exertion, emotional stress, immersion in cold or hot water, sexual activity, mild head trauma, or exposure to pain, and it may occur more frequently in those with a history of migraines, affecting 12% to 30% of cases.[1][3] Diagnosis is primarily clinical, relying on a detailed history to exclude mimics such as transient ischemic attack or seizure, often supported by neuroimaging like MRI, which may reveal punctate lesions in the hippocampus 24 to 72 hours post-episode in about two-thirds of patients.[1][2] Management involves supportive care in a hospital setting for monitoring, with no specific pharmacological treatment required, as episodes resolve completely without intervention.[1][2] Prognosis is excellent, with full memory restoration and no increased risk of dementia or cerebrovascular events, though recurrence occurs in fewer than 10% of cases, and a slight association with later epilepsy development has been noted in some studies.[1][2] Despite its alarming presentation, TGA does not indicate underlying serious pathology in most instances and carries a low mortality rate directly attributable to the condition.[1]Clinical features
Amnestic symptoms
Transient global amnesia (TGA) is characterized by the sudden onset of anterograde amnesia, in which affected individuals are unable to form new memories following the initiation of the episode.[3] This impairment manifests as a profound disruption in encoding recent experiences, leading to a temporary void in the continuity of autobiographical memory.[4] Despite this deficit, patients typically retain the capacity for immediate recall of events occurring within seconds to minutes prior, allowing brief interactions but preventing retention beyond that span.[4] In addition to anterograde amnesia, TGA often involves variable retrograde amnesia, where recall of events from hours to days preceding the onset is impaired, though this loss rarely extends to more remote periods such as years earlier.[2] The retrograde component is generally milder and less consistent than the anterograde deficit, affecting personal episodic memories while sparing foundational aspects of long-term memory.[5] This selective memory gap underscores the focal nature of the amnestic syndrome in TGA. Critically, TGA spares semantic memory, which encompasses general knowledge and facts about the world, as well as procedural memory, enabling the performance of learned skills such as driving or using utensils without disruption.[4] Patients remain fully alert and attentive throughout the episode, with no evidence of aphasia, apraxia, or other cognitive impairments beyond the amnestic features.[3] For instance, an individual may recognize family members and engage in conversation but repeatedly fail to remember the details of that interaction moments later.[2]Behavioral manifestations
During episodes of transient global amnesia (TGA), individuals commonly display repetitive questioning regarding their current situation, time, and location, often asking the same queries multiple times without retaining the answers provided. This behavior arises from the underlying anterograde amnesia and is observed in approximately 92% of TGA cases.[6] Patients typically exhibit mild confusion or perplexity, appearing disoriented to their temporal and spatial context but without progressing to delirium or full disorientation to self. They remain alert and attentive, with intact immediate recall for information presented moments earlier, distinguishing this state from more severe cognitive impairments.[6][7] Personal identity and remote autobiographical memory are fully preserved, allowing affected individuals to recognize themselves, recall lifelong events, and know their name and basic personal details without disruption. This preservation underscores the selective nature of the episode, affecting only recent and ongoing memory formation.[6][8] Anxiety or agitation may occur in some cases, stemming from the patient's partial awareness of their memory failure, leading to emotional distress or mild restlessness. However, these reactions are not universal and tend to be transient.[9] Notably absent are any focal neurological signs, such as motor weakness, sensory deficits, ataxia, or impairments in speech or vision, which helps differentiate TGA from stroke or other acute neurological events.[6]Typical progression
Transient global amnesia (TGA) episodes characteristically exhibit an abrupt onset without prodromal symptoms, frequently occurring during everyday activities such as walking or conversing.[1] The anterograde amnesia develops rapidly, often reaching maximal severity within minutes of initiation, rendering patients incapable of forming new memories while preserving other cognitive functions.[10] The overall duration of a TGA episode ranges from 1 to 24 hours, with a mean length of 4 to 6 hours in most cases.[11] Throughout the acute phase, the amnesia remains profound, though patients may exhibit repetitive questioning as a hallmark of their disorientation to time and events.[1] Toward the latter part of the episode, there is a gradual improvement in the ability to encode new information, marking the transition to resolution. Anterograde amnesia typically resolves first, followed by a brief persistence of partial retrograde amnesia, which recovers in a telescopic manner—remote memories returning before more recent ones outside the amnestic period.[1] Full cognitive recovery ensues spontaneously, restoring patients to their baseline without any lasting neurological impairments.[12] Recurrence within the same day is exceedingly rare.[1]Diagnosis
Clinical criteria
The diagnosis of transient global amnesia (TGA) relies on standardized clinical criteria to ensure accurate identification based on the patient's history and observed presentation. The seminal criteria were established by Hodges and Warlow in 1990 following a prospective study of 153 cases of acute transient amnesia, where 114 met the strict diagnostic thresholds for TGA.[13] These criteria require the following features to be present:- The episode must be witnessed by an observer and reported as such.
- There is acute onset of anterograde amnesia, often accompanied by repetitive questioning due to impaired immediate recall.
- No clouding of consciousness or loss of personal identity occurs.
- Absence of focal neurological symptoms or deficits during or after the episode.
- No clinical features suggestive of epilepsy, such as auras, automatisms, or convulsions.
- No recent head trauma or active epilepsy history.
- The amnesia resolves completely within 24 hours, with no residual cognitive impairment beyond possible mild retrograde amnesia gaps.