Amnesia medical therapy

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Zehra Malik, M.B.B.S[2]

Treatment can be offered in cases of reversible conditions. If not, provision of supportive care can help to improve a patient’s condition. Etiology specific treatment plan should be followed to improve memory and delay progression.

• Memory loss can’t be treated unless it is caused by a reversible condition.
• The treatment is greatly dependent on the primary etiology.
• When memory loss is a symptom of a more severe disease, it may be reversed as soon as the underlying condition is identified and cured.
• Memory loss due to aging cannot be cured, but the symptoms may be improved by preventative measures.^[1]
• Family support plays an important role in treating memory loss.
• Family members are usually encouraged to take special orientation classes on how to cope with their sick relatives and how to help them improve their condition.^[2]
• Post-traumatic Amnesia:^[3]
  • Supportive: Environmental and lifestyle modifications, cognitive rehabilitation.
  • Pharmacological: In early post-trauma stage, drugs that stimulate cerebral acetyl cholinergic functions may be used to improve memory. In late stages drugs with cerebral catecholaminergic function may be beneficial to improve attention, information processing speed and time, and decrease development of depression and apathy.
• Dissociative Amnesia:
  • Psychotherapy: Cognitive-behavioral therapy, dialectic-behavior therapy, relaxation techniques.
  • Medications: Antidepressants, anti-anxiety or antipsychotic drugs are used to treat the mental symptoms associated with dissociative amnesia.
• Childhood Amnesia: Methods used from retrieval of episodic memory lost:
  • Cued recall: Patients are prompted to recall memories co-relating to the cue word.^[4]
  • Free recall: Patient is free to recall memories in any order.
  • Exhaustive recall: Memory recall of all the incidents prior to a specific age without using a cue.^[5]
• Drug Induced Amnesia:
  • It is reversed once the drug administration stops. Although, some memory right after onset of memory loss due to drug intake could be permanently lost but the rest of the memory is regained.^[6]
• Korsakoff’s syndrome:
  • Thiamine replacement: IV 500 mg- 1500 mg, thrice a daily 3 days at the minimum.
  • Electrolyte and fluid replacement. Magnesium and glucose administration is crucial, if deficient.^[7]
  • Memory rehabilitation^[8]
• Alzheimers Disease:^[9]
  • Cholinesterase inhibitors and memantine are commonly used to improve cognitive symptoms.
• Epileptic Amnesia
  • Usually resolves with anti-epileptic medications.^[10]

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