- A man visited hospital after getting amnesia 10 minutes after having sex with his wife.
- He couldn't retain new information and his memory of the day before was temporarily wiped.
- He was diagnosed with transient global amnesia, a poorly understood condition that can be linked to sex.
A man got amnesia 10 minutes after having afternoon sex with his wife, temporarily wiping his memory of the previous day and rendering him unable to retain new information, doctors have said.
The 66-year-old man became "distressed" after he looked at his phone after sex one afternoon, saw the date and thought that he'd forgotten his wedding anniversary — when in fact he'd celebrated it with his wife and family the day before, doctors from Limerick, Ireland said in a case report published in the Official Journal of the Irish Medical Organisation on Wednesday.
The memory loss lasted for an hour, with the man repeatedly questioning his wife and daughter over the events of the morning and the previous day, the doctors said.
The man, who was not identified in the case report, visited an emergency room, and had a completely normal neurological examination by the time he got there, they said.
Doctors diagnosed him with transient global amnesia (TGA), a benign condition that causes sudden, short term memory loss and the inability to form new memories. Any memory loss typically lasts 4 to 6 hours without the need for treatment, but can last up to 24 hours.
The doctors who authored the report said repetitive questions and an inability to retain answers are key features of TGA.
TGA can mimic other conditions such as stroke, dementia, or epilepsy, and may have implications for certain jobs, such as pilots.
Most cases have been reported in men aged between 50 and 70. We don't know exactly what causes TGA, but it has been linked to several activities including physical exertion, immersion in cold or hot water, emotional stress, pain, and sex.
The man in the case report had experienced the exact same phenomena seven years prior. TGA can happen to a person more than once, though exactly how often is not agreed upon.