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Suggest Treatment For Memory Loss Due To A Seizure Disorder
Question: my wife of 71 yo suffered a grande mal seizure 7 mos ago. She has recovered her physical abilities for the most part. She is in a nursing home with 24 hr. care mainly for safeguard against falling and bathroom help. She uses a walker to get around. She lost her memory of the last three years living in another city. Her memory beyond three years ago is fair to good. What can I do to help her?
Brief Answer:
The cause should be found first.
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
In order to help your wife, is necessary to have a correct diagnosis first about the causative condition.
Amnesia may be caused by ischemic events in certain brain areas, even small ones, so, an evaluation with brain MRI and/or PET scan is necessary for this purpose.
Some antiepileptic drugs also may cause amnesia as an adverse effect, so, this possibility should be considered too.
Finally, neuropsychological tests are necessary to assess all the cognitive functions of your wife, not only memory.
After such evaluation that should be guided by a Neurologist we can have correct answers about the cause of your wife issues and after that should be clear what to do to help her.
Hope you found the answer helpful.
Regards,
Dr. Erion Spaho, Neurologist, Surgical
The cause should be found first.
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
In order to help your wife, is necessary to have a correct diagnosis first about the causative condition.
Amnesia may be caused by ischemic events in certain brain areas, even small ones, so, an evaluation with brain MRI and/or PET scan is necessary for this purpose.
Some antiepileptic drugs also may cause amnesia as an adverse effect, so, this possibility should be considered too.
Finally, neuropsychological tests are necessary to assess all the cognitive functions of your wife, not only memory.
After such evaluation that should be guided by a Neurologist we can have correct answers about the cause of your wife issues and after that should be clear what to do to help her.
Hope you found the answer helpful.
Regards,
Dr. Erion Spaho, Neurologist, Surgical
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Kampana
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