October 23, 2008
LIVESTRONG.COM
Amnesia is a condition that affects the memory. There are many possible causes for amnesia, and amnesia may occur for different lengths of time. Learn about the symptoms, possible causes, and treatment options for amnesia in this video.
Dr. Susan McGladdery is a medical graduate from Oxford University in the UK and has a Master's Degree in Medical Sciences from Cambridge University. She has been a member of the Royal College of Physicians since 1991 and a member of the American Academy of Urgent Care since 2006. She trained as a Family Physician in the UK in Oxford and then in London. In a medical career that spans over 20 years, she has worked as a doctor in 5 countries on 3 continents and cared for patients from a multitude of different nationalities and backgrounds. Dr. McGladdery joined FirstMed Centers in mid 2002 and became Regional Medical Director in 2003.
SUSAN MCGLADERRY, BM, BCH, MRCP: Hello My name is Dr. Susan McGladerry. I'm the medical director from the FirstMed Centers in Budapest, Hungary. I'd like to give you some information on memory loss or amnesia. This refers to unusual forgetfulness. It can be caused by brain damage due to disease or to injury or severe emotional trauma. It may start slowly or suddenly following for example, head injury and it may be temporary or permanent. It's also due to normal aging and in this case, there's trouble learning new material and a slow recall of facts. What are the common causes of amnesia? It includes things like aging as I've mentioned, neurological disease such as Alzheimer's disease, seizures, and stroke, it may be due to head trauma or head injury, or to alcoholism. Also, due to masses in the brain caused by tumor or infection such as abscess, and brain infection such as herpes and cephalitis can also cause memory loss, and it may be due to depression. You should call your health care provider if there's unexplained memory loss. Your doctor will make a thorough examination and take a medical history. This may require asking questions of family members and friends. There should be a physical examination which will include a detailed neurological examination and tests should be made of recent, medium, and long-term memory. Depending on the exam findings, certain diagnostic tests may be performed and these include things like cerebral angiography, CT scan, or MRI of the head, EEG, a recording of the electric brain wave activity, and blood tests may all be helpful. What can we do to help those with amnesia? Family support should be provided. Reality orientation is very helpful, supplying familiar objects, photos, and music. It's also important write down any medication schedules and not to depend on memory. For some patients, it's necessary to provide special care facilities like a nursing home. This is very important where the safety or the nutritional wellness of the patient is endowed.
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