Arsenic may be responsible for King George's madness

[merwin]

Arsenic may be responsible for King George's madness

Thu Jul 21, 7:07 PM ET

PARIS (AFP) - The madness of Britain's King George III, who came to the throne in 1760, could be explained by the high concentrations of arsenic found in a sample of hair, according to a study in the latest issue of the British medical review The Lancet.

The authors of the study believe that the arsenic would have contributed to the monarch's unusually severe and prolonged bouts of madness, the Lancet issue dated July 23 said.

George III suffered during his nearly 60-year reign from five major episodes of mental derangement, which also had physical manifestations as the king is believed to have suffered from porphyria, a genetic or acquired defect leading to the faulty synthesis of a protein.

Porphyria can result in abdominal pains, cramps, muscle weakness and psychic problems, including depression. anxiety and paranoia.
...

-----------------

For a minute I thought they were talking about King George the Bush

[stepnw1f]

1. Makes Sense (nt)

[unrepuke]

2. Did it make Old KG3 fall off his bicycle, too ?

as "A little learning is a dangerous thing"


Perhaps a matter of not enough arsenic.

[candice]

3. What was the source of his arsenic?

[DemBones DemBones]

4. According to the article:

Researchers believe the arsenic came from the contamination of the king's medication.

The notes of the Royal physician showed the king was given emetic tartar, which contains a substance called antimony that can be contaminated with arsenic.

The medication would have contributed to a chronic intake of arsenic, from 3.6 to 9 milligrams a day of the poison, researchers said, noting that the lethal dose is less than 60 to 80 milligrams.

Arsenic was also found in the hair of another historical legend of the same era, Napoleon of France, leading to theories that he died from poisoning and not from stomach cancer in 1821 at the age of 51.

[Spider Jerusalem]

10. Have to wonder...

if there was any arsenic in the wallpaper of the royal residences, besides what may have been present in contaminated medicines (that's supposedly the source of Napoleon's arsenic poisoning).

[lavenderdiva]

5. Okay, I admit it, when I first read the headline, I thought you meant *

but then, of course, I knew you were referring to England's King George III... But I guess the scary part is what first came to mind...... :hide:

[goclark]

6. clever!

:eyes:

[Up2Late]

7. It was the BOOZE I tell ya! Oh sorry, wrong "King George"

but Dim Son's problem is/was the Booze.

[orleans]

8. and the coke

and perhaps even the dope.

compounded with brain damage.

[nolabels]

9. Not just any kind of snake oil

Fowler's Solution, Liquor Arsenicalis, Liquor Potass.E Arsenitis


Arsenic apothecary jar

Modern Information about Fowler's Solution
Fowler's solution was a medication discovered in 1786 and prescribed for over 150 years. Fowler's solution is also known as Solution of Potassium Arenite, Arsenicum Album, Kali Arsenicosum or Kali arseniatum, Liquor Arsenicalis, Liquor Potass.E Arsenitis. Fowler’s Solution contains a 1% solution of potassium arsenite.

Interestingly, the FDA approved Arsenic trioxide (Trisenox), in September of 2000 to treat patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia. It shows that some of the older drugs are still being used medicinally. The following information is taken from a dispensatory from 1848 and deals with potassium arsenite.
(snip)
http://drugstoremuseum.com/sections/level_info2.php?level_id=145&level=2

[Spider Jerusalem]

11. The drug used to treat sleeping sickness is an arsenical, too

melarsoprol...described as "arsenic in antifreeze".