President Abraham Lincoln's health has been a topic of debate among scholars and physicians. In addition to known illnesses such as smallpox and constipation, at times it has been argued that he also suffered from depression and cancer. The fascination continues: the U.S. National Museum of Health and Medicine held a Symposium on President Lincoln's Health on April 18-19, 2009.
One of the more enduring theories about President Lincoln's health arose in the early 1960s. A physician published a paper in 1964 in the Journal of the American Medical Association which stated that President Abraham Lincoln had Marfan syndrome, a connective tissue disorder. The diagnosis was based on physical observations of Lincoln:
At a scientific workshop held in October 2001 in Cairo, Egypt, the scientists gathered there felt that there was not enough scientific evidence available to definitely diagnose President Lincoln with the disorder.
Marfan syndrome is an inherited disorder of connective tissue, although about one-quarter of all cases occur without any family history of the syndrome. It affects both men and women of all ethnic background. About 1 in 5,000 people have Marfan syndrome.
|
0 comments:
Post a Comment