Mad Monarchs: Comparison of the Nature, Causes and Consequences of the Mental Ill-Health of Maria I of Portugal and George III of Great Britain

Peters, Timothy D.; Willis, Clive

doi:10.1179/cou.2014.19.1.003

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“…In contrast, medical historians with an interest in psychiatry -including Arnold Chaplin, the FitzPatrick Lecturer of 1917-18 -have all, since the fi rst study in 1831, clearly shown a diagnosis of bipolar disorder (or the contemporary synonym). 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.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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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Neuromyelitis optica: Application of computer diagnostics to historical case reports

Reitboeck

Garrard

2017

Journal of the History of the Neurosciences

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The retrospective diagnosis of illnesses by medical historians can often be difficult and prone to bias, although knowledge of the medical disorders of historical figures is key to the understanding of their behavior and reactions. The recent application of computer diagnostics to historical figures allows an objective differential diagnosis to be accomplished. Taking an example from clinical neurology, we analyzed the earliest reported cases of Devic's disease (neuromyelitis optica) that commonly affects the optic nerve and spinal cord and was previously often confused with multiple sclerosis. We conclude that in most identified cases the software concurred with the contemporary physicians' interpretation, but some claimed cases either had insufficient data to provide a diagnosis or other possible diagnoses were suggested that had not been considered. Computational methods may, therefore, help historians to diagnose the ailments of historical figures with greater objectivity.

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Mad Monarchs: Comparison of the Nature, Causes and Consequences of the Mental Ill-Health of Maria I of Portugal and George III of Great Britain

Cited by 2 publications

References 0 publications

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

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

Neuromyelitis optica: Application of computer diagnostics to historical case reports

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