Transient Epileptic Amnesia (TEA)

Transient epileptic amnesia (TEA) is a seldom variety of temporal lobe epilepsy. The epileptic focus is supposed to be located in the hippocampal area. An altered short term memory during the attacks and a persisting retrograde amnesia are prominent. Retrograde amnesia generally involves autobiographical items, but sometimes only special events of biography. The main differential diagnosis to TEA is transient global amnesia (TGA). TEA is distinguished from TGA by the following important criteria: acute memory dysfunctions, which recur with a high frequency; EEG abnormalities, often sharp waves and spikes over the temporal region; a quick response to anti- epileptic drugs; and the additional retrograde amnesia. Further differential diagnoses to TEA are so-called amnesic strokes, deliria, and dissociation (psychiatry). According to the literature, TEA is a common disease in elderly people. Whether it precedes a forthcoming dementia is still not clarified.

Literature:

• Engmann, Birk; Reuter, Mike: A case history of sudden memory dysfunction – caused by transient epileptic amnesia. Akt Neurol 2003; 30: 350-353
• Mendes, Marcelo Heitor: Transient epileptic amnesia: an under-diagnosed phenomenon? Three more cases. Seizure. 2002 Jun; 11(4): 238-242
• Rabinowicz, Adrián L.; Starkstein, Sergio E.; Leiguarda, Ramón C.; Coleman, Anton E: Transient epileptic amnesia in dementia: a treatable unrecognised cause of episodic amnestic wandering. Alzheimer Dis Assoc Disord. 2000 Oct-Dec; 14(4): 231-233.