|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
EpilepsyA history of stigma and superstitionby Ruth SoRelle
As early as 400 BC, a full description of it appears in the literature of ancient Indian medicine, where it is described as a loss of consciousness. A Babylonian tablet in London's British Museum accurately records the various kinds of seizures typical of epilepsy. Hippocrates, the Greek father of medicine, believed epilepsy was a disorder of the brain and recommended physical treatment in keeping with the practices of his day. Yet in the 2,000 years between Hippocrates and modern time, the world associated epilepsy with the supernatural. People with epilepsy were feared and subjected to social stigma, cast out of their communities or punished for their seizures.
Ancient Romans associated epilepsy with demons and thought it was contagious. In the Middle Ages, epilepsy was known as the "falling sickness" that could be cured by the appearance of the Three Wise Men or St. Valentine, all patrons of people with the ailment. By the late 1600s, the association of epilepsy with demons faded, but the notion of contagion gained fashion. People with epilepsy were sometimes incarcerated in mental hospitals. They were kept separate from the mentally ill to protect their fellow prisoners from "catching" epilepsy.
As recently as the early 1900s, King George V and the British royal family kept the youngest son, John, out of the public eye because of his epilepsy. When he died in 1919 at the age of 13, his existence was almost unknown. Even in modern times, eugenicists sought to prevent people with epilepsy from marrying or having children. The practice was common in the United States in the 1920s as well as in Nazi Germany. That the practice continued was underscored by the fact that the Americans with Disabilities Act, passed in 1990, made it illegal to discriminate against people with epilepsy in the workplace. |
Patient CareBaylor Clinic from the Inside Out Oil and Medicine: Profile on Dan Duncan ResearchEpilepsy: Seeking the Cause of a Lonely Disease Epilepsy: A history of stigma and superstition In for a Checkup? Check Out the Research Too EducationAll About the Education Evolution Revolution Community ServiceIntroducing the Problem Solvers College NewsRededication of a Monument to Medicine New BCM Logo Takes Center Stage The Perfect Fit: Putting the Pieces Together
Our Mission, Values, and Imperatives
|
||
Volume 1, Issue 1, Spring 2005 |
|||
 |
|
BCM Home | BCM Intranet | Privacy Notices | Contact BCM | BCM Site Map © 2005-9 Baylor College of Medicine® |
|
| Last modified: October 10, 2008 |
Epilepsy is not a new disease.
Despite this, some people with epilepsy achieved great things. Alexander the Great, who conquered most of the known world, is reputed to have had the "sacred disease," so-called because those who had it in his time 2,300 years ago were believed to be touched by the gods or demons. Julius Caesar was afflicted with the "falling sickness," suffering seizures during the last two years of his life. Others believed to have had the disease include Czar Peter the Great of Russia, Pope Pius IX, the writer Fyodor Dostoevsky and the poet Lord Byron. Diagnosis was imprecise, and treatment often lacking until the introduction of bromide in 1857 as the world's first effective drug to combat epilepsy.
The famous artist Vincent van Gogh was diagnosed with epilepsy late in his life and suffered serious convulsive seizures in the years before his death. At least one expert believes his epilepsy was brought on by his use of the drink absinthe. He described his typical seizures as "the storm within." At one point, he was hospitalized. At that time, a physician diagnosed his epilepsy and prescribed potassium bromide for him. He resumed painting three weeks later, although later bouts of absinthe drinking caused his mental state to deteriorate. It was during the height of his seizures that he painted A Starry Night, the Self Portrait with Bandaged Ear and Pipe and Crows in the Wheatfields. He committed suicide in 1890.