Amnestic Disorder

Amnestic Disorder Riddhi Bulsara September 1st 2011 Clinical Asepsis My paper is going to be about Amnestic Disorder. “Amenstic disorder is a group of diorders that involve loss of memories. Previouly established, loss of ability to creat new memories, or loss of the ability to learn new information”. As defined by the mental health professional’s handbook, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders , fourth edition, text revision (2000), also known as DSM-IV-TR. Amnestic Disorder usually comes due to general medical conditions that create memory disturbance and exposure to chemicals.

In my paper I’ll include the discription of amnestic disorder, Their causes and symptoms, diagnosis, treatments, prognosis and prevention of the disorder. Amnesia Amnestic disorders are described by problems with memory function. There is a variety of symptoms associated with the amnestic disorders, as well as differences in the severity of symptoms. Some people experience difficulty remembering events that happened or facts that they learned before the beginning of the amnestic disorder. This type of amnesia is called retrograde amnesia.

Other people experience the inability to learn new facts or retain new memories, which is called anterograde amnesia. People with amnestic disorders do not usually forget all of their personal history and their identity, although memory loss of this amout of severity occurs in very rare cases, for instances in patients with dissociative disorders. Causes and symptoms of the disorder. Amnestic disorders are caused by physical or chemical damage to parts of the brain . Problems remembering previously learned information be different widely according to the location and the severity of brain damage.

The ability to learn and remember new information is always affected in an amnestic disorder. Amnestic disorder occurs due to a general medical condition that can be caused by head trauma, tumors, stroke , or disease affecting the blood vessels in the brain. Amnestic disorder can also, be caused by alcoholism, long-term heavy drug use, or exposure to such toxins as lead, mercury, carbon monoxide, and certain insect repellent. In cases of amnestic disorder caused by alcoholism, it is thought that the root of the disorder is a vitamin deficiency that is commonly associated with alcoholism, known as Korsakoff’s syndrome.

In addition to problems with information recall and the formation of new memories, people with amnestic disorders are often disoriented with respect to time and space, they are unable to tell an examiner where they are or what day of the week it is. Many patients with amnestic disorders lack insight into their loss of memory, they will deny that there is anything wrong with their memory. Others will admit that they have a memory problem but have no apparent emotional reaction to their condition.

Some people with amnestic disorders suffer a personality change, they may appear lethargic or weak, as if the typical features of their personality have been washed out of them. Some people go through amnestic disorders confabulate, in which they fill in memory gaps with false information that they believe to be true. It is much more common in patients with temporary amnestic disorders than it is in people with long-term amnestic disorders. Transient global amnesia is characterized by incidents during which the patient is unable to create new memories or learn new information, and sometimes is unable to recall past memories.

The events occur suddenly and are generally short. Patients with TGA often appear confused or bewildered. Diagnosis and treatments Amnestic disorders could be self-reported, if the patient has taken a look into his or her memory problems. Patients who are disoriented, or whose amnesia is associated with head trauma or substance abuse,could be taken to a hospital emergency room. The doctor will first observe the patient for signs or symptoms of traumatic injury, substance abuse, or a general medical condition.

Then He or she may order imaging studies to identify specific areas of brain injury, or laboratory tests of blood and urine samples to determine exposure to environmental toxins or recent intake of alcohol or drugs of abuse. “If general medical conditions and substance abuse are run out, the doctor may administer a brief test of the patient’s cognitive status, such as the mini-mental state examination or MMSE. In some cases the patient may also be examined by a neurologist”. There are no treatments that have been proved effective in most cases of amnestic disorder yet.

Most patients recover slowly over time, and sometimes get better memories that were formed before the beginning of the amnestic disorder. Patients normally get better from transient global amnesia without treatment. In people its obvious to have the signs that often lead to alcohol-induced carry on amnestic disorder, dealing with thiamin may stop the disorder from developing Prognosis and Prevention of the disorder. Amnestic disorders that caused by alcoholism do not usually improve significantly over time, although in a very small number of cases the patient’s condition progresses completely.

In many cases the symptoms are severe, and in some cases permit long-term care for the patient to make sure his or her daily needs are met. Other element made amnestic disorders have a variable rate of recovery, although in many cases full recovery does eventually occur. Transient global amnesia usually resolves fully. “Amnestic disorders resulting from trauma are not generally considered preventable”. Avoiding exposure to environmental toxins, refraining from abuse of alcohol or other substances, and maintaining a balanced diet may help to prevent some forms of amnestic disorders. Summary

Amnesia is basically a memory loss disorder. Either retrograde amnesia or anrograde is formed after the incident occurs. There are many causes and symptomes incuding disorented with respect to time and space, they lack insight in to their loss of memory, confused or personality changes. There has not been any effective treatment for amnesia yet, some recovers slowly while other are at the same pace. Amnestic disorder occurs due to some medical conditions that produce memory distubances, or drug abuse medications or environmental toxins. In my opinion I think that everybody should do their part to keep the environment eco-friendly. herefore that not many people suffer from diseases or disorder. References American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 4th ed. text revised. Washington DC: American Psychiatric Association, 2000. Sadock, Benjamin J. and Virginia A. Sadock, eds. Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry. 7th ed. Vol. 2. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2000. Corridan, Brian J. , S. N. Mary Leung, I. Harri Jenkins. “A Case of Sleeping and Forgetting. ” The Lancet 357, no. 9255 (February 17, 2001): 524.