Turkish man cured of blood addiction

DENIZLI, Turkey, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- A Turkish man whose symptoms were described as clinical vampirism has recovered following two years of treatment, a doctor said.

Dr. Direnc Sakarya of Denizli Military Hospital and his research team said the 23-year-old man, who was the subject of a report in the Journal of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics in 2011, no longer suffers from the post-traumatic stress disorder and dissociative identity disorder that led to his cravings for human blood, Today's Zaman reported Monday.

Sakarya said the man's vampire-like activities began with drinking his own blood and eventually led to several arrests for stabbing and biting others to drink their blood.

The team said the man's illness stemmed from traumatic events including the death of his 4-month-old daughter from illness and witnessing a friend kill a man by cutting off his head and penis.

The man would emerge from his blood-craving states with no memory of his actions, the doctors said.

"Possibly due to 'switching' to another personality state, he was losing track during the 'bloody' events, did not care who the victim was anymore, and remained amnesic to this part of his act," the report said.