Doctors Poisoned Crazy King George, Study Finds

[icymist]

Doctors Poisoned Crazy King George, Study Finds
By Michael Schirber

LiveScience Staff Writer
posted: 21 July 2005
06:31 pm ET

King George III (1738-1820) held the throne of the British monarchy during the American Revolution and the defeat of Napoleon, and he was rather crazy.

His long reign was punctuated by severe bouts of mental derangement.

A new hair analysis suggests that the king's doctors may have exacerbated his illness by inadvertent arsenic poisoning.

(More)
http://www.livescience.com/history/050721_king_george.html

Now to find what's making our King George crazy!

[intheflow]

1. Petrolium poisoning, no doubt.

That's what happens in oily families.

[Up2Late]

2. They had a very good interview with the author of a new Book on Poison

on the WHYY/NPR radio show "Fresh Air," he talks about this too. Well worth a listen, It's about 40 minutes long(39:50), here's the link:

Health & Science

John Emsley, Poison and 'The Elements of Murder'

Listen to this story (at the link above)

Fresh Air from WHYY, July 25, 2005 · In his new book The Elements of Murder: A History of Poison, chemist John Emsley chronicles cases of accidental and intentional use of lethal substances throughout the ages. Some say Beethoven and Mozart were poisoned to death.

Emsley won Brtain's Science Book Prize for his 1995 book Consumer's Good Chemical Guide. He was a researcher and lecturer in chemistry at London University for 20 years before becoming a popular science writer.

<http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4769877>

[Viking12]

3. I recall a theory that Mary Todd Lincoln was also inadveratntly poisoned..

by either mercury or arsenic. Given the lack of knowledge of biochem and the apparent benefits of various compounds it's not surprising.

Not necessarily unique to the 17th and 18th centuries. PCBs, DDT, & ???? are some of the 20th century's claims to _______. What may the 21st bring.

[NNadir]

4. I think its been pretty well established that George III's insanity was

due to porphyria, a genetic disease in which the patient is unable to metabolize hemoglobin and other phorphyrin molecules.

The inbreeding of European royalty and the resulting genetic diseases has lead to some rather pronounced historical effects, not only in the case of George III, but also in the case of Queen Victoria's grandchild, Tsarevich Alexis Romanov whose hemophilia was partially responsible for the chain of events that would lead to the Russian revolution, Lenin, Stalin, the whole tragic kit and kaboodle.

[Lithos]

5. Most definitely proven I think

Or as proven as anything that old can be. The symptoms are an exact match for porphyria including the periods of sanity (caused during dietary changes which were part of other treatments, but which alleviated the symptoms. Note: coincedence, not skill on the doctor's part). The color of the urine, the type of madness, the genetic nature (there were several in his blood line, including several of a modern nature who had this disease), etc.

[muriel_volestrangler]

6. As often happens, the headline is misleading

From the body of the article:

An attack of porphyria can cause a variety of symptoms including abdominal pain, a racing pulse, constipation, and red or discolored urine, as well as mental disturbances such as hallucinations, depression and paranoia.

Although this genetic defect can explain the king's physical suffering and mental incapacity, the persistence, severity and late onset of his episodes are unusual.
...
Arsenic interferes with the same heme-synthesis, so its presence could have induced and perhaps worsened the king's acute attacks of porphyria, the researchers say.

The source of this arsenic may have been the king's own doctors. During his illness outbreaks, they prescribed him emetic tartar -- an antimony-based medicine used to induce vomiting.

[NNadir]

7. You are right. The text covers the porphyria quite well.

I didn't open the link and read it, but it's there.