Memory loss resident survival guide
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Moises Romo, M.D.
Overview
Amnesia (from Greek Ἀμνησία) is a condition in which memory is disturbed or lost. The causes of amnesia can be organic or functional. Organic causes include damage to the brain through trauma or disease or the use of certain (generally sedative) drugs. Functional causes are psychological factors, such as defense mechanisms. Hysterical post-traumatic amnesia is an example of this. Amnesia may also be spontaneous, in the case of transient global amnesia. This global type of amnesia is more common in middle-aged to elderly people, particularly males, and usually lasts less than 24 hours. Memory loss can be partial or total and is normally expected as we get older.
Causes
Life Threatening Causes
Life-threatening causes include conditions that may result in death or permanent disability within 24 hours if left untreated.
Common Causes
Diagnosis
Shown below is an algorithm summarizing the diagnosis of [[disease name]] according the the [...] guidelines.
Treatment
Shown below is an algorithm summarizing the treatment of [[disease name]] according the the [...] guidelines.
| Patient with amnesia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Acute onset | Chronic onset | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fluctuating course, inattention, disorganized thinking, or altered level of consciousness? | Positive for SIGE CAPS questionary? | Yes | Depression | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Yes | No | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Delirium | Dementia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Take history and perform physical examination | Take history and perform physical examination | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| History of head trauma? | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No | Concussion, post-concussive amnesia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Measure CBC, TSH, creatinine, electrolites, glucose, vitamin B12, and folic acid to reveal cause | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Initial short term memory loss | Vascular risk factors, imaging evidence of cerebrovascular involvement | Young age, behavioral symptoms or language impairment | Bradikinesia or features of parkinsonism,
fluctuating cognition, visual hallucinations | Dementia occuring 1 year after onset of Parkinson disease | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alzheimer disease | Vascular dementia | Frontotemporal dementia | Dementia with Lewy bodies | Parkinson disease dementia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Do's
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Don'ts
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