What are the most common causes of amnestic syndromes?
The etiologies for amnestic syndromes can be divided according to their anatomic location:
- Medial temporal lobes—hypoxia, herpes simplex encephalitis, early AD, posterior cortical atrophy (PCA), strokes (thalamic and temporal lobe), surgery
- Diencephalon—Korsakoff’s syndrome (thiamine deficiency), thalamic strokes, surgery
- Basal forebrain—anterior communicating artery aneurysm bleed or clipping (with damage to the small perforating arteries)
- Substances—alcohol, benzodiazepines (transient, not permanent)
