scholarly journals 105 A presentation resembling transient global amnesia with underlying tako-tsubo cardiomyopathy and multifocal ischaemic stroke (with restricted diffusion in the left mesiotemporal lobe)

2019 ◽  
Vol 90 (e7) ◽  
pp. A34.2-A34
Author(s):  
Kristen Lefever ◽  
Chloe Tyson ◽  
Lisa Shelley ◽  
Daniel Schweitzer ◽  
Andrew Swayne

IntroductionWe present a case of a 65 year-old female with a presentation resembling transient global amnesia (TGA) with investigations revealing a Tako-tsubo cardiomoyopathy and multifocal punctate areas of restricted diffusion consistent with ischaemic stroke.MethodsSingle case report.ResultsA 65 year-old female presented altered behaviour with anterograde amnesia consistent with an episode of TGA. There was no clearly identifiable stressor to provoke this episode. The TGA-like symptoms persistent for 12 hours before the patient made a full recovery.During the presentation the patient complained of chest pain with elevated troponin. Cardiac investigation was notable for mild left ventricular dilation with mid- and apical hypokinesis on transthoracic echocardiogram and a normal coronary angiogram consistent with Tako-tsubo cardiomyopathy. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain revealed multifocal infarcts including punctate foci of restricted diffusion within the left mesiotemporal lobe.ConclusionThis case is notable as it is rare to have a combined presentation with TGA-type symptoms with Tako-tsubo cardiomyopathy and multifocal ischaemia stroke.1 This is the first clinical case presentation involving the aforementioned triad and mesiotemporal lobe restricted diffusion. We hypothesise that the Tako-tsubo cardiomyopathy acted as the triggering event and the mesiotemporal lobe involvement caused the TGA-like symptoms thereby accounting for the clinical presentation and investigation findings. As mesiotemporal/hippocampal restricted diffusion may be seen with transient global amnesia,2 this case is of special interest mechanistically although we cannot exclude the alternative hypothesis that the episode of TGA resulted in the Tako-tsubo cardiomyopathy which subsequently caused the cardioembolic shower.ReferencesStollberger C, DeCillia N, Finsterer J. ‘Tako-tsubo cardiomyopathy with transient global amnesia and cerebellar embolic stroke triggered by existential fear.’Neurol Neurochir Pol 2018; 52(3):394–396.Enzinger C, Thimary F, Kapeller P, Ropele S, Schmidt R, Ebner F, Fazekas F. ‘Transient global amnesia: diffusion-weighted imaging lesions and cerebrovascular disease.’Stroke 2008;39(8):2219–2225.

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 (jun10 1) ◽  
pp. bcr2013010154-bcr2013010154 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. A. Mallio ◽  
G. Assenza ◽  
F. Occhicone ◽  
Y. Errante ◽  
B. B. Zobel ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 89 (6) ◽  
pp. A38.3-A39
Author(s):  
Sameer Saleem ◽  
Ronak Patel ◽  
Yash Gawarikar

IntroductionTransient global amnesia (TGA) is a clinical syndrome characterised by the sudden onset of anterograde amnesia accompanied by repetitive questioning, sometimes with a retrograde component, lasting up to 24 hours, without compromise of other neurologic functions.CaseA 71 year old male presented to the neurology clinic with history of recurrent episodes of reversible anterograde amnesia with repetitive questioning. His first two episodes were in May 2016 and clinically very typical of TGA. After that he had recurrent episodes and he noted that they were happening on a monthly basis. He had an episode on 24 March 2017 at Yangon airport as he was returning from a trip to Myanmar. He had had three episodes in February 2017 and two in March and April 2017 and one episode on 20 May 2017. Initial MRI brain showed frontotemporal atrophy suggestive of Alzheimer’s disease and there was hypo-perfusion on the nuclear medicine study. EEG did not show any epileptic activity. His partner described a typical episode where the patient lost his memory for the preceding 24 hours and he had repetitive questioning such as ”what day is it” repeatedly. During the entire episode, he was conscious and able to converse appropriately. He had another episode of amnesia on 19 August and was admitted and underwent an MRI of brain, which showed characteristic punctate abnormalities in the bilateral hippocampi on B2000 DWI.ConclusionThe estimated annual rate of recurrence of TGA is 5.8%. Diagnosis is made from typical clinical features and typical MRI DWI findings of punctate lesions in the hippocampal with a DWI resolution of B=2000, and a thin slice thickness of 2 to 3 mm. Our patient had 11 documented episodes of transient amnesia and was a diagnostic dilemma until the characteristic hippocampal abnormalities were demonstrated on MRI.


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Greta Barbieri ◽  
Alessandro Cipriano ◽  
Simona Luly ◽  
Viola Del Nista ◽  
Eugenio Orsitto ◽  
...  

Transient global amnesia (TGA) is a clinical syndrome characterized by reversible anterograde amnesia, in which the patient is alert, self-awareness appears intact and other neurological symptoms are absent. The diagnosis is based on the following criteria: i) witnessed event; ii) acute onset of anterograde amnesia; iii) no accompanying neurological symptoms; iv) no alteration of consciousness; v) no epileptic features; vi) resolution within 24 hours; vii) exclusion of other causes. We conducted a cohort study at the Department of Emergency Medicine on 119 patients with TGA diagnosis from 2010 to 2014, with follow-up evaluation by telephone interview. The objectives of our study were to evaluate the frequency of subsequent episodes, to identify predisposing factors, and to investigate whether TGA is a possible predictor of neurological disease. The frequency of comorbidity in our population was in line with literature. We observed a recurrence rate of 9.5%, with a prevalence for the male gender, while no other factor correlates with TGA recurrence. TGA was not a predictor of further neurological diseases. In conclusion, TGA is a benign pathology with a low probability of relapse. Accordingly, management in Emergency Department should be based on a correct initial clinical classification for rapid discharge.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Ralph Werner ◽  
Johannes C. Woehrle

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Transient global amnesia (TGA) is a syndrome featuring acute anterograde amnesia as the most striking clinical symptom. Its etiology is still a matter of debate. Most neurological guidelines allow the diagnosis on the basis of clinical criteria only; a more extensive evaluation is recommended only for patients with “red flags” like severe headache, nausea or vomiting, or metabolic abnormalities. The aim of our study was to assess the frequency of a severe underlying disease or alternative diagnoses (mimics) in patients fulfilling the clinical criteria. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> We evaluated the medical records and the imaging data of an unselected consecutive cohort of patients with suspected TGA over a 7-year period. All patients were hospitalized and received a neurological workup including brain imaging, color-coded duplex sonography of the brain supplying arteries, electroencephalography, and laboratory studies of blood and (in selected cases) cerebrospinal fluid. <b><i>Results:</i></b> 163 patients with 166 episodes of suspected TGA were hospitalized (3 patients twice). After the workup, the diagnosis of TGA was confirmed in 148/166 (89.2%) episodes (“simple TGA”). Eighteen patients (10.8%) either had an alternative diagnosis or a severe comorbidity that was assumed to have had an impact on the occurrence of the amnestic episode (“complicated TGA/mimic”). The most important differential diagnosis was stroke (11 patients, 6.6% of all TGA suspects and 61.1% of the complicated TGA/mimic group). Other mimics were transient epileptic amnesia (2 patients) and steroid-induced delirium (1 patient). Important comorbidities that had not been obvious at the time of presentation were severe sleep apnea (2 patients), triptan overuse (1 patient), and an involuntary amlodipine intoxication during TGA. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> As approximately every tenth patient with suspected TGA either had an alternative diagnosis or a severe comorbidity, which had not been obvious at the time of admission, we consider in-patient treatment of all suspected TGA cases as appropriate, preferably in the setting of a stroke unit, as ischemic stroke was the by far most important diagnosis mimicking TGA.


Neurology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 95 (20 Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. S16.1-S16
Author(s):  
Basit Shah ◽  
Mohammed Wasif Hussain

ObjectiveTo review a rare presentation of Transient Global Amnesia (TGA) in context of concussion with reversible imaging findings.BackgroundTGA is characterized by sudden temporary loss of anterograde memory accompanied by repetitive questioning without focal neurologic deficits. While risk factors of age above 50 and migraines remain constant, a clear cause is unknown. The association between TGA and concussion is not well defined beyond 2 case reports in the literature. We review the existing literature and examine a case of TGA in temporal relationship to mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) or concussion.Design/MethodsCase Report.ResultsA healthy 38-year-old male with no prior concussions or headaches, sustained a concussion after falling backward on pavement. He presented to the emergency room with retrograde amnesia of events 1 hour prior to his injury with subsequent anterograde amnesia. His exam demonstrated normal language and speech and no other focal neurologic deficits. He was diagnosed with TGA with symptoms lasting for 16 hours before fully resolving. Approximately 24 hours after his injury, he developed a migraine headache and tinnitus that was worse with exertion, lasting for roughly 12 hours. His initial CT head while symptomatic demonstrated an area of hypodensity within the left anterior temporal lobe. 2 days after his presentation, he had an MRI with DWI/SWI as well as an EEG, all of which were completely normal, with complete resolution of the finding on CT. He had no further symptoms after his headache resolved and no recurrence of TGA after 12 months follow-up.ConclusionsTGA presenting after a concussion has rarely been reported. We report such a case with imaging findings present during the acute phase that were not present on subsequent MRI suggesting possible reversible vasogenic edema. This may provide insights into the pathophysiology of TGA in this population.


2007 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 987-989 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHIARA AGOSTI ◽  
BARBARA BORRONI ◽  
NABIL AKKAWI ◽  
ALESSANDRO PADOVANI

We report the case of an Italian family in which three sisters experienced transient global amnesia (TGA). Since its early description, this transitory pure memory deficit has attracted increasing interest, especially within the neurological community. In 1964 the term “TGA” was coined to identify the abrupt onset of anterograde amnesia, accompanied by repetitive queries lasting for hours and then gradually recovering, leaving an amnesic gap for the duration of the attack. Afterwards, many studies focused on TGA, and in 1990 clinical criteria were defined by Hodges and Warlow (1990). Further studies showed that meeting diagnostic criteria was a significant predictor for a better outcome than in other forms of transient amnesia, while amnesic patients who did not fulfil the TGA criteria had different outcomes. Precipitating and trigger events for TGA were identified and divided into physical and psychological factors (Inzitari et al., 1997; Quinette et al., 2006). Physical precipitants were found to be gardening, housework and sawing wood, contact with water and changes in body temperature occurring during hot baths or showers, or a cold swim at the swimming pool. Emotional trigger events included a major life or death event, emotional stress triggered by a gastric endoscopy, an exhausting work session, and anxiety resulting from conflicts at home or at work, health problems and money worries. Several hypotheses have been proposed for its pathogenesis such as psychogenic, venous dysfunction due to jugular venous valve incompetence, or ischemic aetiology, but the enigma of TGA still needs to be unravelled (Lewis, 1998; Akkawi et al., 2001).


Neurology ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 85 (20) ◽  
pp. e145-e145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolina Cuello Oderiz ◽  
Diego Miñarro ◽  
Dan Dardik ◽  
María Cecilia Fernández

2021 ◽  
pp. svn-2021-001006
Author(s):  
Sang Hum Lee ◽  
Keon-Yeup Kim ◽  
Jeong-Woo Lee ◽  
So-Jeong Park ◽  
Jin-Man Jung

BackgroundThe exact pathophysiological mechanism of transient global amnesia (TGA) is unknown. It is debatable whether TGA is a risk factor for stroke. Therefore, here we investigated the possibility of TGA as a risk factor for stroke in a real-world setting using large-scale nationwide health claims data.MethodsWe used health claims data from the Korean National Health Insurance Service (NHIS). Patients diagnosed with TGA between 2007 and 2013 were selected. We initially extracted patients without TGA who were preferentially matched for age and sex with the patients with TGA at a ratio of 10:1 from the whole dataset. Further, we performed 1:2 propensity score matching analysis to balance the baseline characteristics between the two groups. In the propensity score-matched dataset, we performed multivariable Cox regression analysis to investigate the association between TGA and stroke type, including ischaemic, haemorrhagic and all stroke types.ResultsPatients with TGA (n=14 673) were selected from the NHIS database. After extracting from the whole database (n=140 486) and propensity score matching their data at a 1:2 ratio, a total of 10 448 and 20 442 patients were finally assigned to the TGA and control groups, respectively. The multivariable Cox regression analysis demonstrated that the TGA group had a higher risk of ischaemic stroke and all types of stroke (adjusted HR=1.194; 95% CI: 1.043 to 1.368; and HR=1.197; 95% CI: 1.056 to 1.357, respectively).ConclusionsAnalysis of the nationwide claims database showed that TGA could be an important risk factor for stroke, especially for ischaemic stroke.


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