Computer-based diagnosis of illness in historical persons

Peters, T. J.; Garrard, Peter

doi:10.4997/jrcpe.2013.215

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…England suffered undisputed periods of insanity requiring regencies 16,31,32. Some authorities believe King George III suffered from porphyria31 and suggest that his ancestors Margaret Tudor (the sister of Henry VIII), Mary Queen of Scots and King James VI of Scotland also suffered from this condition.…”

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“…Some authorities believe King George III suffered from porphyria31 and suggest that his ancestors Margaret Tudor (the sister of Henry VIII), Mary Queen of Scots and King James VI of Scotland also suffered from this condition. Yet this diagnosis is highly disputed;[32][33][34] other postulated alternative diagnoses including arsenic toxicity and depression have been suggested for George III,31,32,34 and bipolar disorder or schizophrenia for Charles VI and Henry VI 35. Since Catherine de Valois (daughter of Charles VI of France), links all three as wife of Henry V, and subsequently, mother of Henry VI, grandmother of Henry VII, great grandmother of Henry VIII, and a direct ancestor of George III, it is tempting to speculate that she carried and shared a partially penetrant genetic predisposition to mental illness.…”

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Henry VIII, McLeod syndrome and Jacquetta’s curse

Stride¹,

Floro²

2013

J R Coll Physicians Edinb

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The mental decline of King Henry VIII from being a jovial, charismatic and athletic young man into an increasingly paranoid, brutal tyrant in later life, ever more concerned at his lack of one or more male heirs, has attracted many medical diagnostic theories. Previous hypotheses have included diabetes, syphilis and hypothyroidism, among others. However, these inadequately explain Henry's failure to produce a male heir, despite multiple pairings. The latest postulated diagnoses for Henry are the coexistence of both Kell blood group antigenicity (possibly inherited from Jacquetta Woodville, Henry's maternal great grandmother) causing related impaired fertility, and McLeod syndrome, causing psychotic changes. As the mutated McLeod protein of the syndrome significantly reduces the expression, effectively inactivating the Kell antigen, we critically review this theory, examining in detail the pathophysiology of these conditions and assessing the genealogy of Henry VIII and its effect in subsequent generations.

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Henry VIII, McLeod syndrome and Jacquetta’s curse

Stride¹,

Floro²

2013

J R Coll Physicians Edinb

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“…12 In contrast, the only mental disorder sometimes associated with acute porphyria, even in complete remission, is anxiety. 13 In order to provide an objective diagnosis of the king's mental disorder, current techniques of cognitive archaeology 14 including computer diagnostics 15 and handwriting analysis 16 are currently being applied to the primary source data.…”

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FitzPatrick Lecture: King George III and the porphyria myth – causes, consequences and re-evaluation of his mental illness with computer diagnostics

Peters

2015

Clinical Medicine

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AFitzPatrick Lecture: King George III and the porphyria myth -causes, consequences and re-evaluation of his mental illness with computer diagnostics Recent studies have shown that the claim that King George III suffered from acute porphyria is seriously at fault. This article explores some of the causes of this misdiagnosis and the consequences of the misleading claims, also reporting on the nature of the king's recurrent mental illness according to computer diagnostics. In addition, techniques of cognitive archaeology are used to investigate the nature of the king's fi nal decade of mental illness, which resulted in the appointment of the Prince of Wales as Prince Regent. The results of this analysis confi rm that the king suffered from bipolar disorder type I, with a fi nal decade of dementia, due, in part, to the neurotoxicity of his recurrent episodes of acute mania. KEYWORDS:Acute intermittent porphyria, bipolar disorder, computer diagnostics, King George III, senile dementia, variegate porphyria A professional is a man who can do his job when he doesn't feel like it. An amateur is a man who can't do his job when he does feel like it.HS Torrens (2006) 1 IntroductionThe lengthy reign of King George III (1760-1820) coincided with a succession of important military and political events, including the loss of the American colonies, the defeat of Napoleon, the development of the Industrial Revolution and the founding of the British Empire. Historians have discussed, at length, the role of George III in the decisions leading to these and other events. The nature of his recurrent ill health is clearly relevant, but, surprisingly, has been little explored by professional historians, who have been content to follow the views of the porphyria claimants despite their limited training in historical methods and modern medical diagnostic techniques. BackgroundThe amateur historians Ida Macalpine and Richard Hunter initially claimed a diagnosis of acute intermittent porphyria as the cause of King George III's recurrent mental illness, which they later changed to the rarer and milder variegate porphyria.2,3 My colleagues and I have shown these diagnoses to be unsustainable in studies that were reported in this journal in 2011 and elsewhere [4][5][6][7] and that were recently highlighted in an article relating to George III by John Cannon in the Oxford dictionary of national biography. 8 In spite of these reports, recent publications have cited claims of porphyria as the defi nitive cause of the king's illness. The recent exhibition on Georgian London at the British Library and the associated guide book 9 both highlight porphyria as the cause of the king's illness, and recent correspondence with the relevant library curator confi rms the British Library's unwavering adherence to the porphyric claims, although the contradictory evidence is on their own shelves! Similarly, a recent visit to Kew Gardensthe grounds of Kew Palace, which was the focus for the king's illness in 1788-9 -identifi ed the diagnosis of porphyria in ...

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