History of Different Therapeutics of Venereal Disease Before the Discovery of Penicillin

Forrai, Judit

doi:10.5772/24205

Cited by 8 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…The disease information that we obtain from historic texts was coined by Mitchell (2011: 82) as a "social diagnosis", in the sense that the diagnosis was a "label" given by people in the past, which may be different from the modern view of disease. Presently, it is known that the pandemic of syphilis was not only caused by syphilis but also by other venereal diseases misdiagnosed as syphilis (Forrai, 2011). In fact, only in the 19 th century and in the beginning of the 20 th century the causative agents of many sexually transmitted diseases, such as chancroid, gonorrhea and syphilis were isolated and treated as separate diseases (Forrai, 2011;Maatouk and Moutran, 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Presently, it is known that the pandemic of syphilis was not only caused by syphilis but also by other venereal diseases misdiagnosed as syphilis (Forrai, 2011). In fact, only in the 19 th century and in the beginning of the 20 th century the causative agents of many sexually transmitted diseases, such as chancroid, gonorrhea and syphilis were isolated and treated as separate diseases (Forrai, 2011;Maatouk and Moutran, 2014). Before that, they were considered a same entity, which might have caused misunderstandings and mistakes in its identification, treatment and report (Forrai, 2011, Burg, 2012.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In fact, only in the 19 th century and in the beginning of the 20 th century the causative agents of many sexually transmitted diseases, such as chancroid, gonorrhea and syphilis were isolated and treated as separate diseases (Forrai, 2011;Maatouk and Moutran, 2014). Before that, they were considered a same entity, which might have caused misunderstandings and mistakes in its identification, treatment and report (Forrai, 2011, Burg, 2012. If entangled with textual sources that allude to a particular condition, one adds biological evidences, the knowledge about the historic and social impact of that condition increases considerably.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A possible case of acquired syphilis at the former Royal Hospital of All-Saints (RHAS) in Lisbon, Portugal (18th century): a comparative methodological approach to differential diagnosis

Assis¹,

Casimiro²,

Cardoso³

2015

anthranz

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Between the years of 1999 and 2001, during the excavation of the Praça da Figueira (Lisbon, Portugal), several human osteological remains from various chronological periods were discovered. Amongst them several skeletons are known to be related with the Hospital Real de Todos-os-Santos (Royal Hospital of All Saints-RHAS), which had an important role. The hospital history begun in 1492 and ended in 1755 largely as a consequence of the Lisbon earthquake. Of the skeletons exhumed, one in particular, the adult female Sk. 1310 showed significant pathological changes. The bone lesions characterized by new bone deposition, with a symmetric and disseminate pattern, were found in the upper limbs, distal end of femurs and in tibia and fibula diaphyses. A bowing deformity with "sabre shape" morphology was also observed in the tibiae. The most striking lesions, characterized by healed nodular cavitations and similar to those of caries sicca, were recorded on the frontal bone. Considering the value of a complete description, as well as the application of multiple lines of enquiry for a reliable differential diagnosis, three distinct techniques were applied and compared: visual examination, imagiology and histology. The results showed that the macroscopic analysis coupled with conventional X-ray analysis were fundamental to obtain a possible diagnosis of acquired syphilis. In contrast, the CT-scan and the histological analyses were less informative. The application of a new scoring system also supports a diagnosis of acquired syphilis. This case-study constitutes the first evidence of syphilis associated with the RHAS, supporting historical data on the pivotal role that this hospital had on the treatment of several conditions, namely, syphilis.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A possible case of acquired syphilis at the former Royal Hospital of All-Saints (RHAS) in Lisbon, Portugal (18th century): a comparative methodological approach to differential diagnosis

Assis¹,

Casimiro²,

Cardoso³

2015

anthranz

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…The causative agent of syphilis was discovered in 1905 (Schaudinn and Hoffmann, 1905). Up until 1909, the year of the discovery of the antisyphilitic effects of arsenicals, mercury was the mainstay of treatment for syphilis (Forrai, 2011;O'Shea, 1990). Arsenic compounds were widely used in Europe until they were superseded by penicillin in the 1940s (Douglas, 2009;Mahoney et al, 1943;Stokes et al, 1944).…”

Section: Skeletal Manifestation Of Syphilismentioning

confidence: 99%

An isotopic case study of individuals with syphilis from the pathological-anatomical reference collection of the national museum in Prague (Czech Republic, 19th century A.D.)

Salesse

Kaupová

Brůžek

et al. 2019

International Journal of Paleopathology

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Objective: This paper aims at investigating the possible existence of isotopic offsets in δ 13 C col and δ 15 N col values in relation to tertiary syphilis. Material: Based on materials from the 19th c. A.D. deriving from the pathological-anatomical reference collection (the Jedlička collection) of the National Museum in Prague (Czech Republic), a comparative approach of ten individuals with syphilis and nine without the disease was undertaken. Methods: Bone powder samples were defatted according to the protocol of Liden et al. (1995). Bone collagen was extracted following the protocol of Bocherens et al. (1991). Results: Our results show that individuals with syphilis have lower δ 13 C col values than individuals without the disease; the observed difference between the two groups is about 0.3-0.4‰, which is relatively small but still meaningful. However, no difference between δ 15 N col values of the two groups has been noticed. Conclusions: Either diets prescribed by physicians to syphilitic patients or nutritional stress caused by cyclic appetite disturbance due to the disease itself or the administered medical treatment appeared to be possible explanations of the observed isotopic pattern. Overall, the response of the two isotopic proxies could argue for relatively limited nutritional restrictions. Significance: This is the first study examining bone collagen isotopic response to syphilis based on clinically documented human skeletal materials. Limitations: The sample sizes are relatively small and cautiousness must be taken regarding the interpretations of the data. Suggestions for further research: Compound-specific stable isotope investigations and analysis of mercury content could be helpful to better understand the observed isotopic effects.

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“…On the other side of the Carpathians, the first account of syphilis in Transylvania dates back to 1501 when a case is recorded in Sibiu (Banu, ). The first dermatology and syphidology ward and department in Hungary were opened by Ernő Schwimmer in the city of Cluj‐Napoca in 1874, which is suggestive of a high number of cases in the region of Transylvania (Forrai, ). All of these demonstrate that treponematosis was present in an endemic form nowadays in Romanian territories, affecting an important number of individuals.…”

Section: Historical Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiple Cases with Probable Treponemal Infection from 16th to 19th Centuries Romania

Radu

ANDREICA

Constantinescu

et al. 2015

Intl J of Osteoarchaeology

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In this paper, we describe pathological lesions identified in seven skeletons discovered in the Saint Sava necropolis in Bucharest, Romania, dating to the Late Medieval/Early Modern period. The pathological changes observed in the skeletons were analysed using macroscopic examination. Additionally, computed tomography scanning was performed on two individuals displaying advanced lesions on the cranial surface. For the differential diagnosis, we took into consideration treponemal infection, tuberculosis, osteomyelitis, leprosy, fluorosis, melorheostosis, hypertrophic pulmonary osteoarthropathy, Paget's disease and mycotic infection, along with the possibility of multiple afflictions occurring simultaneously. The morphology and distribution of the lesions are suggestive of treponematosis, which, to our knowledge, makes this the first case of this disease on the Romanian territory in archaeological populations.

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History of Different Therapeutics of Venereal Disease Before the Discovery of Penicillin

Cited by 8 publications

References 3 publications

A possible case of acquired syphilis at the former Royal Hospital of All-Saints (RHAS) in Lisbon, Portugal (18th century): a comparative methodological approach to differential diagnosis

A possible case of acquired syphilis at the former Royal Hospital of All-Saints (RHAS) in Lisbon, Portugal (18th century): a comparative methodological approach to differential diagnosis

An isotopic case study of individuals with syphilis from the pathological-anatomical reference collection of the national museum in Prague (Czech Republic, 19th century A.D.)

Multiple Cases with Probable Treponemal Infection from 16th to 19th Centuries Romania

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