Transient global amnesia and migraine in young people

Two cases of transient global amnesia (TGA) in a 16-year-old boy and in a 13-year-old girl are reported; both occurred during competitive sport and were associated with migraine. TGA in young people could provide crucial information on the still equivocal pathogenesis, a vascular thromboembolic hypothesis being untenable in such cases. A migrainous mechanism is likely to underlie TGA in young people and ‘pure’ TGA in general. TIA or stroke, like epilepsy or other pathological conditions, should concern the differential diagnosis of transient amnestic episodes rather than the pathogenesis of TGA.