• Retrograde: for events before the cause

• Anterograde: inability to store new memories after the cause

• Global: for information related to all senses and past times

• Sense-specific: for events processed by one sense

• Amnesia may be

1. transient (as occurs after brain trauma)
2. fixed (as occurs after a serious event such as encephalitis, global ischemia, or cardiac arrest), or
3. progressive (as occurs with degenerative dementias, such as Alzheimer's disease). 

• Memory deficits more commonly involve facts (declarative memory) and, less commonly, skills (procedural memory).

When to seek medical advice for Amnesia

• Anyone who experiences unexplained memory loss, a head injury, confusion or disorientation requires immediate medical attention. 

• A person with amnesia may not be able to identify his or her location or have the presence of mind to seek medical care. If someone you know has symptoms of amnesia, don't hesitate to help the person get medical attention.

What are the treatment options available for Amnesia

• Treatment focuses on techniques and strategies to help make up for the memory problem.

• A person with amnesia may work with an occupational therapist to learn new information to replace what was lost, or to use intact memories as a basis for taking in new information.

• Memory training may also include a variety of strategies for organizing information so that it's easier to remember and for improving understanding of extended conversation.

• Many people with amnesia find it helpful to use a personal digital assistant (PDA). With some training and practice, even people with severe amnesia can use these electronic organizers to help with day-to-day tasks. Low-tech memory aids include notebooks, wall calendars, pill minders and photographs of people and places.

• No medications are currently available for treating most types of amnestic syndrome.

• Because Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome involves a lack of thiamin, treatment includes replacing this vitamin and providing proper nutrition.

• Researchers are investigating several neurotransmitters involved in memory formation, which may one day lead to new treatments for memory disorders.

• The complexity of the brain processes involved makes it unlikely that a single medication will be able to resolve memory problems.

Written by Healthplus24 team
Date last Modified: Aug 26, 2011