Originally Posted by Maree

Memory-loss man tells of shock


Kay Dibben
January 26, 2008 11:00pm

STANDING outside a Brisbane hospital, the young European-accented man with memory loss spoke of his shock and confusion at not even knowing his own name.
In his first interview, on Friday evening, the man who presented himself at Royal Brisbane Hospital on January 17 said he saw faces in his dreams, but could not put names to them. Although he speaks with an obvious European accent, the young man (pictured) says he thinks he speaks English like everyone else.
"I don't recognise I'm speaking with an accent," he said.
"I can't imagine any other language."
Hospital tests have failed to determine the cause of his sudden memory loss and police have not been able to discover the identity of the man in his early 20s.
He says he has spent time in the hospital library, reading about psychology and memory, and occasionally going for walks outside the hospital.
His first memory of finding himself in the middle of Brisbane 11 days ago was of walking around the streets.
"I became seriously confused, even shocked," he said.
"I started walking the streets thinking, 'Who am I?'. It was a big question. It disturbed me."
The man said he tried not to panic and to think logically.
"I couldn't stay in the middle of the city for the rest of my life," he said. "I believed a doctor or somebody at a hospital could help me."
Missing persons unit head Detective Senior Sergeant Jim Ryan said a group of young people told police the man had been with them outside Rockhampton for up to six weeks until January 14. He told them he was born in Poland, but had not lived there for quite a while. However, he has not recognised Polish spoken to him, nor the nickname he used when he met the other people.

Sketches clue to man's identity


Janelle Miles
January 25, 2008 11:00pm

HE sits in a Brisbane hospital, drawing with obvious flair, yet has told his doctors he cannot remember his name.
The man, believed to be in his early 20s, speaks English with a heavy European accent but gives no response when police and doctors try to determine his first language. He has been spoken to in Russian, German, Slovak, Czech and Polish.
"He may not remember what language he speaks," says Missing Persons Unit head Jim Ryan.
"I know that sounds a bit silly. With his loss of memory, we haven't ruled anything out."
Tests at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital so far have failed to pinpoint a reason for his memory loss.
Gerard Byrne, head of psychiatry at the University of Queensland, said cases had been reported in medicine previously of multilingual people "losing" a language.
"Normally, the rule of thumb is that the language which goes is the one that you've learned most recently," he said.
"Those of us who deal with people who have got memory problems do see all sorts of unusual variants from time to time."
Associate Professor Byrne said amnesia was rare in young people and diagnosis was often difficult.
Physical causes may include migraine, epilepsy, problems involving blood flow to the brain and vitamin deficiency.
As time goes on and these causes are ruled out, a psychological condition, known as dissociative amnesia, triggered by a major shock or trauma, appears more likely.
"A rape, mugging or life-threatening experience can set it off," Professor Byrne said. He said that in such cases, the problem usually resolved itself.
"Making the person feel safe and comfortable and removing them from any stressful situation, having an expectation that they're going to recover rather than treating them like an invalid does them a lot of good," Professor Byrne said.
Some patients may need psychological counselling and anti-depressants, he said.
Gold Coast psychiatrist Philip Morris said treatment also may include hypnosis or intravenous drug therapy using Amytal, a barbiturate formerly known as a "truth drug".
"The Amytal acts to dampen anxiety," he said.
"You introduce it slowly and you can maybe get the person to start to talk about the events that caused them to lose their memory of who they are. It's called an Amytal interview."
Police believe the man spent several weeks in the Rockhampton area before arriving at the RBWH nine days ago.