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At least 1,009 records · Page 56Linked to original sources
PubMed2003

Gulliver meets Descartes: early modern concepts of age-related memory loss.

Age-related memory loss was a marginal issue in medical discussions during early modern times and until well into the second half of the 17th century. There are many possible explanations: the lack of similar traditions in antiquity and in the Middle Ages, insufficient physiological and morphological knowledge of the brain, and the underlying conflict between idealistic and materialistic perspectives on the functions of the soul and the conditions of these in old age. After these boundaries had been pushed back by the influence of Cartesianism and Iatromechanism, the problem of age-related memory loss was increasingly regarded as a physical illness and began to receive more attention. This trend first occurred in medicine, before spreading to the literary world, where the novel "Gulliver's Travels" is one clear and famous example.

Aging↗
PubMed2001

William Osler and The Fixed Period: conflicting medical and popular ideas about old age.

William Osler (1849-1919) has long been hailed as one of the most illustrious physicians in our history. Yet, Osler's claim to fame outside the medical profession in the early 20th century was through what became known as The Fixed Period controversy about the usefulness of old men. In 1905, as the 55-year-old Osler said farewell to Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine before leaving for Oxford University in England he remarked that men older than 60 years should be retired. He further mentioned a suggestion, which he attributed to Anthony Trollope's novel The Fixed Period, that men older than that age be chloroformed. This article explores the public reaction to Osler in the context of early 20th-century American ideas about old age and manhood. As our society has changed over the past century, so have our ideas about old age. The Fixed Period incident offers us an opportunity to explore the relationship between medical and popular ideas about old age. This historical perspective allows us to see that physicians have not always had authority over old age and that public understanding and medical pronouncements on old age do not necessarily match.

Aged↗
PubMed2001

Cardiovascular disease in the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle contains many incidents of medical interest. While disorders of the cardiovascular system do not play an important role in these tales, there are, nevertheless, some illnesses that invite speculation. Eleven such incidents are reviewed and discussed in light of the times in which they occurred and in light of current medical knowledge.

Arrhythmias, Cardiac↗
PubMed1999

Seizures in the life and works of Edgar Allan Poe.

Edgar Allan Poe, one of the most celebrated of American storytellers, lived through and wrote descriptions of episodic unconsciousness, confusion, and paranoia. These symptoms have been attributed to alcohol or drug abuse but also could represent complex partial seizures, prolonged postictal states, or postictal psychosis. Complex partial seizures were not well described in Poe's time, which could explain a misdiagnosis. Alternatively, he may have suffered from complex partial epilepsy that was complicated or caused by substance abuse. Even today, persons who have epilepsy are mistaken for substance abusers and occasionally are arrested during postictal confusional states. Poe was able to use creative genius and experiences from illness to create memorable tales and poignant poems.

Diagnosis, Differential↗
PubMed2001

[Dostoievsky's life in the interrelation between epilepsy and literature].

Fyodor Mihailovich Dostoievsky is considered one of the most important Russian authors of the nineteenth century. He suffered from epilepsy since childhood, which disease often was a theme in his novels. This paper describes Dostoievsky's life and examines the various epileptic protagonists appearing in his works. Finally, the author's own epilepsy and particularly its etiology are discussed.

Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe↗
PubMed2005

Romancing the family: Umberto Eco's Baudolino.

Referencing Umberto Eco's novel Baudolino, the author discusses issues concerning the authenticity of the narrative, specifically the distortions in the story presented to the audience and doubts surrounding the veracity of the tale. The act of narration is associated with the shame caused by the abuse and neglect that is an integral part of this story. The ambivalence of the protagonist--to tell his story and to keep it (and his true identity) concealed--associates narration, a creative act, with lying. Trauma generates the lies and hiddenness as a means of coping with abuse and indifference. In order to deal with the feelings of inadequacy caused by his humble birth, the traumatized protagonist lies: he romanticizes his family origins, the illusion of being the offspring of distinguished parents. His attempt to win the love of the parents, by being both good and all-knowing, is one of the motivating forces of his family romance. Telling lies makes the protagonist omniscient: he is the only one who knows if and when he is telling the truth. Paradoxically, the narrator creates and undermines that image of omniscience by revealing the thought processes of one character while leaving opaque those of the protagonist, and by denying the trueness of the tale affirmed when he presents as objective his own subjective sentiments by indirectly attributing them to the protagonist. The uncertainty that underpins the narration is indicative of the storyteller's absence. This vacancy structures the work because it allows kindred spirits, nonjudgmental readers (listeners) who willingly suspend disbelief, to enter the world of the narrator. This uncritical participation counters the chaos of the storyteller's reality, as they create their own new world where the split parental images are united.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1986

Indiscretion enteritis. A Rabelaisian syndrome.

A 76-year-old man had small bowel obstruction and organic small bowel disease following a series of bizarre massive gustatory insults that involved food, medications, and mega-mineral-vitamin supplements. Intestinal obstruction required partial small bowel resection. The dietary indiscretions resulted in severe enteritis (indiscretion enteritis). The sequence has been termed a Rabelaisian syndrome after the great French writer and physician, Francois Rabelais, who vividly described bizarre gustatory habits. Gut injury may result from unwise oral intake of various foods and mineral supplements.

Aged↗