TABLE 2. Selected characteristics of 14 patients with sudden-onset amnesia and complete hippocampal ischemia of unclear etiology, by onset year — Massachusetts, June 2012–July 2016.
| Onset year | Age (yrs) | Sex | Substance abuse disorder history | Positive toxicology results | Locations of extra-hippocampal signal abnormalities on MRI | Clinical follow-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 |
27 |
M |
Opioids, marijuana |
Opiates |
None |
Not available |
| 2012 |
22 |
M |
Opioids, marijuana, LSD, MDMA, cocaine |
Opiates |
None |
At 22 months, residual mildly impaired attention and storage, variable processing speed |
| 2014 |
49 |
M |
None reported |
Opiates, cocaine |
Occipital lobe |
Not available |
| 2014 |
21 |
M |
Opioids |
Marijuana |
Basal ganglia, fornix, midbrain, cerebellum, temporal lobe |
Not available |
| 2014 |
51 |
F |
Opioids, marijuana, cocaine |
Opiates,* cannabinoids, salicylates |
Cerebellum, occipital lobe |
Not available |
| 2014 |
33 |
F |
Opioids (benzodiazepine prescribed) |
Opiates, benzodiazepine |
Basal ganglia |
At 13 months: moderate short-term memory loss, mild inattention and executive dysfunction (for visuospatial and language tasks) |
| 2014 |
41 |
M |
Opioids |
Not performed |
None |
At 8 weeks: severe short-term memory loss, mildly diminished working memory; at 9 months: died from cardiac arrest |
| 2015 |
46 |
M |
Opioids (benzodiazepine prescribed) |
Negative |
None |
Not available |
| 2015 |
19 |
M |
Marijuana, LSD, mushrooms, amphetamine/ dextroamphetamine |
Cannabinoids |
Cerebellum |
At 5 months: short-term memory loss resolved; persistent seizure disorder |
| 2015 |
52 |
F |
Opioids, cocaine (benzodiazepine prescribed) |
Opiates, barbiturates† |
Basal ganglia |
Not available |
| 2015 |
36 |
M |
Opioids |
Negative |
Basal ganglia, corpus callosum, centrum semiovale, occipital lobe, cerebellum |
Not available |
| 2016 |
21 |
F |
Opioids, cocaine, benzodiazepine, marijuana |
Opiates |
Basal ganglia |
Not available |
| 2016 |
22 |
M |
Opioids, benzodiazepine, marijuana (benzodiazepine prescribed) |
Marijuana |
None |
Not available |
| 2016 | 50 | M | Opioids, benzodiazepine, PCP, cocaine, amphetamine/ dextroamphetamine |
Amphetamines, benzodiazepine, cocaine, opiates | Parietal lobe | Not available |
Abbreviations: F = female; LSD = lysergic acid diethylamide; M = male; MDMA = 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine; MRI = magnetic resonance imaging; PCP = phencyclidine.
* Patient had oxycodone/acetaminophen prescribed.
† Patient had butalbital/acetaminophen/caffeine prescribed.