Conclusion
We hope this selective presentation of possible instances of rheumatic diseases and related conditions affecting history has been of interest and offered a different perspective and broader appreciation of the connections between illness and historical events.
Baljeet Rai, MD, is a post-doctoral fellow in the Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine.
Abhimanyu Amarnani, MD, PhD, is a post-doctoral fellow in the Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York City.
Ja-yoon Uni Choe, MD, is a resident in the Department of Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, and Los Angeles County + University of Southern California (LAC+USC) Medical Center, Los Angeles.
Nicole K. Zagelbaum Ward, DO, MPH, was a post-doctoral fellow in the Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, and Los Angeles County + University of Southern California (LAC+USC) Medical Center, Los Angeles; she is currently in private practice in Los Angeles.
Richard S. Panush, MD, MACP, MACR, is professor emeritus in the Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles.
References
- Panush RB, Caldwell JR, Panush RS. Corot’s ‘gout’ and a ‘gypsy girl.’ JAMA. 1990 Sep 5;264(9):1136–1138.
- Panush RS. Chapter 8. Miscellaneous. In: Panush RS (ed). Year Book of Rheumatology, Arthritis, and Musculoskeletal Disease. Philadelphia: Elsevier Mosby; 2007. pp 320–321.
- Panush RS. Rheum with a view: A musical interlude; Orchestral harmony, the immune system, and rheumatic disease; and When does the music stop? The Rheumatologist. 2011 Apr 13:5:74–75.
- Panush RS. Rheum with a view: Embark on a humanities journey. The Rheumatologist. 2011 Nov 1;5(11):47–49.
- Panush RS. Rheum with a view. Why did rheumatoid arthritis begin in 1800? The Rheumatologist. 2012 Sep 5:6(9):40–41.
- Kaptein AA, Smyth JM, Panush RS. Wolf—living with SLE in a novel. Clin Rheumatol. 2015 May;34(5):887–890.
- Leatherwood C, Panush RS. Did King Herod suffer from a rheumatic disease? Clin Rheumatol. 2017 Apr:36(4):741–744; and Re: Re: Did King Herod suffer from a rheumatic disease? Clin Rheumatol. 2017 Oct;36(10):2395.
- Woolever G, Downey C. What might have been. AIMplus. 1988 Oct;18;58–60.
- Stolyar L, Matteson E, Panush RS. The antiquity of rheumatic diseases as in Giovanni Morgagni’s 1761 De Sedibus Et Causis Morborum Per Anatomen Indagatis. The Pharos. 2021 Summer;84(3):28–36.
- Panush RS. Occupational & recreational musculoskeletal disorders. Chapter 38, Firestein & Kelley’s Textbook of Rheumatology. 11th Edition. Firestein GS, Budd RC, SE Gabriel, et al., eds. Philadelphia: Elsevier; 2021.
- Appelboom T, ed. Art, History and Antiquity of Rheumatic Diseases. Brussels: Elsevier; 1987.
- Sandblom P. Creativity and Disease. Philadelphia: George Stickley; 1982.
- Blumberg B. The history of arthritis and rheumatism. Arthritis Rheum. 1960 Oct;3(5):421–422.
- Benedek TG, Rodnan GP. A brief history of the rheumatic diseases. Bull Rheum Dis. 1982;32(6):59–68.
- Smith CD, Cyr M. The history of lupus erythematosus. From Hippocrates to Osler. Rheum Dis Clin North Am. 1988 Apr;14(1):1–14.
- Matteson EL. Notes on the history of eponymic idiopathic vasculitis: The diseases of Henoch and Schonlein, Wegener, Churg and Strauss, Horton, Takayasu, Behçet, and Kawasaki. Arthritis Care Res. 2000 Aug;13(4):237–245.
- Ball GV. Two epidemics of gout. Bull Hist Med. 1982 Sep-Oct;45(5):401–408.
- Copeman WSC. A Short History of the Gout and the Rheumatic Diseases. Los Angeles: University of California Press; 1964.
- Nuki G, Simkin PA. A concise history of gout and hyperuricemia and their treatment. Arthritis Res Ther. 2006;8 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):S1.
- Nriagu JO. Saturnine gout among Roman aristocrats. Did lead poisoning contribute to the fall of the empire? New Engl J Med. 1983 Mar 17;308(11):660–663.
- Delile H., Blichert-Toft J, Goiran JP, et al. Lead in ancient Rome’s city waters. Proc Natl Acad Sciences U S A. 2014 May 6;111(18):6594–6599.
- Grove DI. Re: Did King Herod suffer from a rheumatic disease? Clin Rheumatol. 2017 Oct;36(10):2393.
- Josephus F. Book XVII. Chapter VI. Section 5. The Works of Flavius Josephus, Vol II. Translated by Whiston W. London: Chatto and Windus; 1845.
- Halla JT, Ball GV. Saturnine gout: A review of 42 patients. Semin Arthritis Rheum. 1982 Feb;11(3):307–314.
- Rosner R. Gout in the Bible and Talmud. JAMA. 1969 Jan 6;207(1):151–152.
- Ordi J, Alonso PL, de Zulueta J, et al. The severe gout of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. New Engl J Med. 2006 Aug 3;355(5):516–520.
- Rothschild BM, Tanke D, Carpenter K. Tyrannosaurs suffered from gout. Nature. 1997 May 22;387(6631):357.
- Allison DJ. Christopher Columbus: First case of Reiter’s disease in the old world? Lancet. 1980 Dec 13;2(8207):1309.
- Weissmann G. They all laughed at Christopher Columbus. Hosp Pract (Off Ed). 1986 Jan 15;21(1):29–30, 35–7, 41.
- Weissmann G: They all laughed at Christopher Columbus: Tales of medicine and the art of discovery. New York: Times Books; 1987. pp10–23.
- Arnett FC, Merrill C, Albardaner F, Mackowiak PA. A mariner with crippling arthritis and bleeding eyes. Amer J Med Sci. 2006 Sep;332(3):123–130.
- Hoenig LJ. The arthritis of Christopher Columbus. Arch Intern Med.1992 Feb;152(2):274–277.
- Appelboom T, Russell A. Moses: Did he inherit the spondylarthrits of the pharaohs? Arthritis Rheum. 2003 Feb 15;49(1):142–148.
- Lee JH. Did Sejong the Great have ankylosing spondylitis? The oldest documented case of ankylosing spondylitis. Int J Rheum Dis. 2021 Feb;24(2):203–206.
- Welling DR, Wolf BG, Dozois RR. Piles of defeat. Napoleon at Waterloo. Dis Colon Rectum. 1988 Apr;31(4):303–305.
- Barral G. La Santa de Napoleon Ier. La Chronique Medicale. 1900;7:39–42.
- Masie RK. Nicholas & Alexandra. New York: Atheneum; 1968.
- McKusick VA. The royal hemophilia. Scientific American. 1965 Aug 1;213:88–95.
- Stevens RF. The history of haemophilia in the royal families of Europe. Br J Haematol. 1999 Apr;105(1):25–32. Erratum in Br J Haematol. 1999 Dec;107(4):905.
- Willbanks OL, Willbanks SE. Femoral neuropathy due to retroperitoneal bleeding. A red herring in medicine complicates anticoagulant therapy and influences the Russian Communist Revolution (Crown Prince Alexis, Rasputin). Am J Surg. 1983 Feb;145(2):193–198.
- Chernov V. The Great Russian Revolution. New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press; 1936.
- Redlich FC. A new medical diagnosis of Adolf Hitler. Giant cell arteritis—temporal arteritis. Arch Intern Med. 1992 Mar 22;153(6):693–697.
- Cogan DG. Life events and visual symptoms of Adolf Hitler (with personal anecdotes). Doc Ophthalmol. 1995;89(1-2):9–13.
- Helfgott SM. John F. Kennedy’s odyssey in search of diagnosis. The Rheumatologist. 2013 Nov 1;7(11):10–11.
- Dallek R. The medical ordeals of JFK. The Atlantic. 22 Dec 2002.
- Macchia D, Lippi D, Bianucci R, Donell S. President John F Kennedy’s medical history: Coeliac disease and autoimmune polyglandular syndrome type 2. Postgrad Med J. 2020 Sep;96(1139):543–549.
- Pait TG, Dowdy JT. John F. Kennedy’s back problems, failed surgeries, and the story of its effects on his life and death. J Neurosurg Spine. 2017 Sep;27(3)247–255.
- Mandel LR. Endocrine and autoimmune aspects of the health history of John F. Kennedy. Ann Intern Med. 2009 Sep 1;151(5):350–354.
- Lattimer JK. Factors in the death of President Kennedy. JAMA. 1966 Oct 24;198:327–333.
- Lattimer JK. Additional data on the shooting of President Kennedy. JAMA. 1993 Mar 24–31;269(12):1544–1547.
- Okie S. 1991. Bush’s thyroid condition diagnosed as Graves’ disease. The Washington Post. 10 May 1991.
- Page S. How a medical mystery tilted the 1992 election in Bill Clinton’s favor. Politico. 1 April 2019.
- Altman LK. The doctor’s world. Seeking clues to immune diseases at the White House. The New York Times. 28 May 1991.
- Panush RS, Levine M, Reichlin M. Do I need an ANA? Some thoughts about man’s best friend and the transmissibility of lupus. J Rheum. 2000 Feb;27(2):287–291.
- Lahita RG. Autoimmunity in the White House. Personal communication, May 5, 2014.
- Healy B, Littlefield N. Presidential ailments. The Atlantic. January–February 2005.