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Transient global amnesia after taking sibutramine: a case report.
Pin-Kuei Fu1, Hung-Yi Hsu, Pao-Yu Wang
1Division of Neurology, Department of Internal Medicine, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung 407, Taiwan, Republic of China.
The Neurologist
|March 12, 2010
Summary
Sibutramine, a weight-loss drug, may cause temporary memory loss or seizures. This case report highlights the potential for sibutramine to induce transient global amnesia or transient epileptic amnesia in patients.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Sibutramine is approved for weight reduction and maintenance.
- Adverse events like amnesia and seizure are listed but rarely reported.
- No published PubMed reports were found for these sibutramine adverse events.
Observation:
- A 39-year-old woman experienced sudden memory loss after 4 days of sibutramine use.
- Brain imaging (CT, MRI, MRA) was normal.
- EEG revealed left mesial temporal spike and wave complexes.
Findings:
- Transient global amnesia was clinically suspected.
- Transient epileptic amnesia provoked by sibutramine was proposed.
- Follow-up EEG was normal; no anticonvulsants were used, and no further episodes occurred.
Implications:
- Sibutramine may induce transient global amnesia or transient epileptic amnesia.
- Physicians should monitor for these adverse effects during sibutramine prescription.
- This case underscores the importance of vigilance for rare neurological side effects of weight-loss medications.
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