The great tragedy of science—the slaying of a beautiful hypothesis by an ugly fact.
Thomas Huxley
Transient global amnesia (TGA) is a well-recognized clinical syndrome characterized by sudden-onset temporary loss of anterograde and recent retrograde memory. Although some individuals have repeat attacks, most have only 1 attack and recover fully. There has been a great deal of conjecture about the underlying cause of TGA; cerebral ischemia, migraine, epilepsy, and now venous congestion each have proponents,1-5 but after years of debate there is no consensus.6,7