Transient Global Amnesia and Migraine

Abstract

This study examined the putative association of transient global amnesia (TGA) and migraine. 57 TGA patients were compared to a double-size control group of normal subjects. TGA patients who also had migraine were additionally compared to those without migraine and to a second control group of outpatients with migraine only. The prevalence of migraine, and also of episodic tension-type headache, was markedly increased among TGA patients. Precipitants and accompanying vegetative symptoms of TGA and migraine overlapped. However, there was no evidence of an interaction between TGA and migraine, in that the expression of key TGA features was not affected by comorbidity with migraine, and vice versa. The present findings argue against the hypothesis that TGA represents a type of migraine aura or migraine equivalent. They conform to the hypothesis that the two conditions are essentially independent and result from an inherited brain state that disposes to different types of paroxysmal dysregulation, presumably at the level of the brain stem.

No Signs of Intracranial Arterial Vasoconstriction in Transient Global Amnesia

“…A higher prevalence of migraine in patients with TGA confirms previous data. [25][26][27] However, only a minority of our TGA patients were migraneurs (less than 30%) and did not show any difference with regard to intracranial hemodynamics, casting further doubts on the migraine-induced vasoconstriction/depolarization hypotheses of TGA. Considering the cerebrovascular hypothesis, similarly to a recent study by the Framingham group, 24 no significant differences between TGA and control patients were observed regarding the incidence of hypertension, diabetes, smoking, hypercholesterolemia, atrial fibrillation, and ischemic heart disease.…”

Transient Global Amnesia

“…Especially migraine was taken into consideration as precipitants and vegetative symptoms of migraine and TGA attacks overlap and patients with frequent headaches or known migrainic disease seem to be numerous in TGA patients [25,32]. It has long been speculated that waves of spreading neuronal hypoor depolarization cause especially the visual aura of migraine [2,9].…”

Transient Global Amnesia: A Brief Review and Update

“…The syndrome of confusional migraine in children resembles TGA [27]. Drug intoxications, especially those with benzodiazepines [23,28], are among the more common causes of transient amnesia, presumably by temporarily depressing the activity of the memory system. Of course, physicians use this property of benzodiazepines deliberately in pre-anesthesia with midazolam (Versed®; Roche Laboratories, Basel, Switzerland) before esophagogastroscopies and similar procedures.…”