A husband suffered from a bout of amnesia after having afternoon sex with his wife, a new study has revealed.
According to a report released in the May edition of the Irish Medical Journal, the 66-year-old pensioner was rushed to hospital after being stricken with a sudden case of Transient Global Amnesia (TGA) within 10 minutes of getting busy with his wife.
The man later revealed that this was not the first time he’d come down with the condition either, having been hit with a similar bout of amnesia during another sexual encounter with his wife more than seven years earlier.
Medics at the Department of Neurology at University Hospital Limerick said that the case was proof that sex could act as a trigger for TGA.
Advert
Rather unsexily titled ‘Recurrent Postcoital Transient Amnesia Associated with Diffusion Restriction’, the document outlines how the man found he had lost all memory of the previous two days following the coital encounter.
“On the afternoon of presentation, he had engaged in sexual intercourse 10 minutes before the onset of memory disturbance,” the paper read.
"After seeing the date on his phone, he became distressed that he had forgotten his wedding anniversary the day before.
"He had, in fact, celebrated his wedding anniversary with his wife and family on the previous day.
"His autobiographical memory remained intact, but he had no memory of that morning or the celebrations the night before."
The paper continued: "The man repetitively questioned his wife and daughter over the events of that morning and the previous day.
"No other neurological symptoms were reported and upon arrival to the emergency department his neurological examination was completely normal."
TGA has traditionally been brought about by migraines or intense physical exercise, although it can also be triggered by hot or cold water, emotional stress, intense pain, or – as doctors have recently discovered – sexual intercourse.
Due to the transient nature of the condition and the fact that it tends to occur in short, isolated incidents, TGA is generally thought to be a relatively mild, manageable affliction, although the recent study reveals that it can have a recurrence rate between 6-10%, primarily amongst people between 50-70 years old.
The paper states that TGA 'can present a diagnostic challenge as its mechanism is poorly understood and it has many potential mimics'.
Tom Sanders