Amnesic Syndrome is a psychiatric disorder that includes symptoms of brain tissue damage and presents with the characteristic features of a state of amnesia with loss of cognitive functions.
This is a serious pathological condition that greatly desocializes a person, infinitely affecting aspects of his behavior, with a poor prognosis, destroying the core of the personality. This is not a separate characteristic disease, but a condition that occurs with various pathological manifestations. The disease is not selective in terms of gender, age, it greatly affects the life aspects of the individual and himself.
Description of the disease
Amnesic syndrome (ICD F10.6) is a fairly well-known disorder that is a memory loss syndrome.
Memory is an important characteristic of the human cognitive process. Not only learning is based on the function of memory, but also the emotional component,which is present in memories of various kinds, colored emotionally. Memory involves a large number of brain regions that are responsible for certain functions. In this regard, memory impairment is a very traumatic symptom, knocking out the whole family from the usual way of life, taking away the most valuable, dear memories from a person. Memory loss is accompanied by impaired memory functions, and a person's learning skills are completely disabled.
International classifier code
Amnestic syndrome is specifically classified by the ICD, it simultaneously refers to many pathologies, as it is only part of a separate disease. The most characteristic pathological changes that are accompanied by similar symptoms are included in section F 00-09. In addition to the fact that the syndrome refers to the symptomatic picture of several diseases, ICD 10 has a separate heading that characterizes it as a separate integral diagnosis. It is used if there is an unmanifested origin, that is, it is not possible to explain the present symptoms in another way. At the same time, it is indicated that the genesis of the syndrome has not been clarified, it is not provoked by psychoactive drugs, and it does not have an alcoholic root cause. In addition, it is often indicated that the syndrome began suddenly, as this is quite significant for subsequent diagnosis.
Reason for development
Pathomorphological changes in amnestic syndrome may be temporary or long-term and turn into damage to the organictype. Quite often, the violation begins with the intermediate part of the brain, it captures such parts of the hippocampus as the visual tubercles. Foci of pathology located in the brain areas of these locations invariably affect the volume and quality of memory. There is a possibility of violation of the processes of remembering forms, in some cases there is confusion in words, images, geometric shapes.
The cause of the development of the disease can be pathologies that affect the brain, NS.
After a stroke
The formation of an organic amnesic syndrome occurs against the background of some vascular diseases, for example, a stroke. It can also be formed as a result of traumatic damage to brain tissue. A variety of lesions of the cerebral cortex, white matter, nerves, arteries can cause impaired memory function, cause amnestic failure, which is the beginning of the development of amnestic syndrome. Hematomas and hemorrhages of various localization and origin can also lead to a similar syndrome. Massive lesions of brain tissues provoked by carbon monoxide poisoning end rather negatively.
Epilepsy
Temporal lobe lesions, for example, epilepsy, are also capable of carrying an amnestic syndrome in their structure. The trigger for the development of pathology can be a cancer process. It develops most rapidly against the background of damage to the ventricular walls.
Alzheimer's disease and other dementia conditions, such as dementia-type atherosclerosis, Lewy dementia, Creutzfelt-Jakob pathology, often become the root cause.
Also, post-concussion disorders, which occur when certain areas of the brain are squeezed, can also provoke amnestic syndrome. In addition, there is transient amnesia (having a global, but passing character), developing, for example, after a transient ischemic attack.
Often the disease develops against the background of tuberculous meningitis with exudates and granulomatosis, generalized herpes-type encephalitis, Wernicke's pathology.
Alcoholism
A very common cause of amnestic syndrome is alcoholism. Quite often it is accompanied by palimsests - short-term memory lapses in a state of intoxication. Also, this syndrome can occur in severe forms of somatovegetative diseases with severe brain damage, severe immunodeficiencies. Amnestic syndrome on the background of alcohol dependence occurs primarily due to a deficiency of B vitamins, since alcohol is a powerful antagonist of these elements.
Korsakoff syndrome
There is also such a variety as Korsakov's syndrome. This is a disorder that occurs when there is damage to the brain. In essence, its root causes are similar to those of the amnestic syndrome, but the disorder itself has specific characteristics. In some cases, the described condition develops due to acute psychotrauma and pathological affect. The disease is also present in the structure of the symptom complex of hysteroid patients, but the pathology is notis typical and is characterized by the appearance of pseudo-dementia.
Amnestic syndrome is very common in the structure of various diseases.
Symptomatics
Such an organic type syndrome is formed with organic lesions of the NS. In this case, there is no fixation amnesia, in which forgetting extends to events of a flow nature.
If a pathological manifestation occurs against the background of TBI, then most often there is a formation of retrograde amnesia. In this case, the patient forgets the events preceding the trauma. In some cases, events that occur after a psychotrauma fall out of memory. In this case, anterograde amnesia is formed.
With Korsakov's syndrome, quite characteristic symptoms are observed. It is of two types - productive and non-productive. When assessing the condition of a dementia patient, stunning or amnestic symptoms may be detected. A similar condition occurs with acute injuries and against the background of post-traumatic syndrome. Some time after the injury, the traumatic state of stunning transforms into a classic amnesic syndrome. Korsakov's syndrome is characterized by such components as disturbance of spatio-temporal orientation, memory defect, fixative amnesia. However, the autopsychic orientation is completely preserved, especially at the beginning of the development of the syndrome. Such information is quite deep, and it is retained in memory for a long time. With Korsakoff's syndrome, it is possiblethe appearance of confabulations - a fantastic replacement for events that are formed absolutely unexpectedly. Such stories are completely devoid of a real basis. A person who has been in the hospital for a month can say that he flew into space yesterday. In addition, pseudo-reminiscences are observed when the patient begins to replace lost events with those that occurred in the past.
Dementias are sometimes accompanied by a symptom such as cryptomnesia, which manifests itself in replacing lost events with those that the patient once read (or saw). That is, a person begins to pass off the stories he read as the events of his life.
Distinctive features of the syndrome on the background of alcoholism
In alcoholism, the amnestic syndrome has symptoms similar to Korsakov's, but there are distinctive characteristics. The main symptoms of vitamin B deficiency are polyneuropathy (manifested by damage to the peripheral NS), delusions of jealousy and other symptoms of alcoholism.
Amnestic syndrome (ICD 10 F10.6) is not uncommon after electroconvulsive therapy. Most often, these conditions are transient, but they greatly deplete the patient. Memory returns over time, but in some cases, elements of loss may remain.
Weakening of verbal memory
One of the symptoms of amnesic syndrome is dysmnestic disorder, which consists in the weakening of verbal memory. The patient begins to forget intentions, actions, names, but beforecomplete forgetting does not occur. Patients understand their defect and do their best to compensate for it by starting notebooks and writing down all the information to be memorized.
Treatment of amnestic syndrome
Currently, there are many tests that allow you to assess cognitive functions and, accordingly, identify the manifestations of the syndrome. Pathology therapy is prescribed depending on the test results.
Amnestic syndrome against the background of dementia cannot be stopped, that is, it will not be possible to return the patient to the previous state. However, the use of medications can stop the development of the disorder at the detected level. This approach allows you to maintain the patient's condition at an adequate level. In addition, experts recommend the use of drugs that inhibit the processes of anabolism in the human body: Bilobil, Memantine, Mema.
Pathogenetic therapy for amnesic syndrome that developed against the background of Alzheimer's disease also exists. Cholinesterase inhibitors can improve the general well-being of the patient and effectively influence his condition.
Amnesic syndrome due to alcoholism suggests detoxification and vitamin therapy.
Equally useful are techniques that prevent the progress of dementia. Post-stroke syndrome involves the use of a large number of psychotropic and neuroprotective medications.
If a patient has psychotic symptoms accompanied by an organic amnestic syndrome, in the treatmenthe is shown neuroleptic drugs in minimal doses: Rispolept, Aminazin, Tizercin, Triftazin, Truxal.
In the presence of cognitive impairment, nootropic drugs are used for therapy, which help the thought process. In addition, they are able to stimulate physical, mental activity, correct the negative effects of some antipsychotics. The most popular drugs are Phenibut, Glycine, Pantothenic acid, Pantogam, Pirinthol.
Cognitive training is incredibly useful for patients with amnestic syndrome, it allows you to keep cognitive abilities at a basic level. In addition, patients with anxiety need support from relatives and the use of sedatives.
