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Transient epileptic amnesia diagnosed using long-term electroencephalography Volume 22, issue 2, April 2020

TEST YOURSELF

 

(1) What are the major clinical differences between transient global amnesia (TGA) and transient epileptic amnesia (TEA)?

(2) How would you establish a diagnosis of TEA in a patient with a witnessed episode of isolated transient amnesia (i.e. without other cognitive deficits associated with the episode)?

(3) Does a normal EEG in a symptomatic patient exclude the diagnosis of TEA?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Answers

(1) Duration (TEA <1 hour, TGA 1-24 hours), recurrence (recurrence of TGA is uncommon) and interictal memory disturbances (typical for TEA, not seen or rapidly improving in TGA patients).

 

(2) Diagnosis should be made if one of the following criteria is met: epileptiform abnormalities on the EEG, concurrent onset of other clinical features of epilepsy or a clear-cut response to anticonvulsant therapy.

 

(3) No, a normal EEG does not exclude epilepsy in general and, in the case of TEA, there is no clear-cut association between detectable seizures or ictal discharges on surface EEG and memory deficits.

 

 

 

 

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