[Transient Epileptic Amnesia: a case report and a reappraisal]

Transient Epileptic Amnesia is a late-onset form of temporal lobe epilepsy characterized by recurrent attacks of transient retrograde and anterograde amnesia usually lasting less than one hour and beginning in late-middle to old age. Attacks commonly occur on waking, a potentially helpful diagnostic clue. The amnesic attacks may be associated with persistent memory complaints. The diagnosis is made on the basis of the clinical history, wake or sleep - deprived EEG (often repeated) and/or a clear - cut response to anticonvulsivant therapy. The pathophysiology remains poorly understood. It is uncertain whether recurrent episodes of amnesia represent ictal or post-ictal phenomena.