Recurrent attacks of transient global amnesia with intracranial vertebral artery dissection: Case report

Whether Transient global amnesia (TGA) is related to ischemic pathogenesis remains unclear. The recurrence of TGA is rare. We report a rare case of recurrent attacks of TGA with intracranial vertebral artery dissection in young men without other triggers and any associated factor. A 39-year-old man was hospitalized for amnesia. Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) revealed a tiny focus of high-intensity signals in the left. High-resolution MRI showed the dissecting aneurysm of the V4 portion of the right vertebral artery. Two years later, the patient experienced sudden memory loss again. On DWI, a new punctate restricted diffusion lesion was observed in the left hippocampus. Considering the recurrence in young men with no other triggers, this case raises the hypothesis that a pure TGA in a young patient could potentially be a vertebrobasilar TIA. Therefore, when a patient presents with TGA, without any associated factors, it is important to investigate and exclude sinister causes of global amnesia and we recommend that a vascular examination be conducted.