I vant your neck ....
Blood, screams, bone chilling howls, urine that glows in the dark, mood swings, hairy ugly people that bay at the moon, and others that want to bite me.
It is either Halloween or just another routine day at the office. Medicine and Halloween have a much closer connection than most people think - and not just because both deal in people possessed of evil spirits.
Many of the most characteristic features of your neighborhood goblin, vampire, or werewolf came about because of one of several medical conditions.
It is either Halloween or just another routine day at the office. Medicine and Halloween have a much closer connection than most people think - and not just because both deal in people possessed of evil spirits.
Many of the most characteristic features of your neighborhood goblin, vampire, or werewolf came about because of one of several medical conditions.
Porphyria - the halloween disease
Vampires are my personal favorite, because they are completely fascinated with blood - one of the most interesting fluids around! And vampires truly do exist - they are suffering from their own rare blood disorder - a disease called porphyria.
Porphyria victims are extraordinarily sensitive to sunlight. Even mild sun exposure can cause severe disfigurement. Facial skin may scar, the nose and fingers may fall off, and the lips and gums may become so taut that the teeth project like fangs.
(2) To avoid sunlight, people with serious cases of porphyria go out only at night, just like Dracula.
(3) Today porphyria can be treated with injections of blood products. Centuries ago, porphyria victims might have sought to treat themselves by drinking blood.
Porphyria victims are extraordinarily sensitive to sunlight. Even mild sun exposure can cause severe disfigurement. Facial skin may scar, the nose and fingers may fall off, and the lips and gums may become so taut that the teeth project like fangs.
(2) To avoid sunlight, people with serious cases of porphyria go out only at night, just like Dracula.
(3) Today porphyria can be treated with injections of blood products. Centuries ago, porphyria victims might have sought to treat themselves by drinking blood.
hemoglobin molecule
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Heme - there are four of these iron carrying lattices in each Hemoglobin
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Porphyria
The major protein in blood is called hemoglobin, and it is made of chemical units called porphyrins.
When a patient can’t make their own porphyrins properly ( usually because of an enzyme deficiency) then they have a porphyria.
There are many different types of porphyrias, but the most severe ones have some interesting symptoms.
Patients become obsessed with blood - possibly because they know that their own is lacking somehow. Chemicals store up in their body that make them extremely sensitive to sunlight - exposure to the harsh light of day makes them break out in terrible rashes, and may trigger bizarre behavioral abnormalities
Triggers of Porphyria:
When a patient can’t make their own porphyrins properly ( usually because of an enzyme deficiency) then they have a porphyria.
There are many different types of porphyrias, but the most severe ones have some interesting symptoms.
Patients become obsessed with blood - possibly because they know that their own is lacking somehow. Chemicals store up in their body that make them extremely sensitive to sunlight - exposure to the harsh light of day makes them break out in terrible rashes, and may trigger bizarre behavioral abnormalities
Triggers of Porphyria:
- exposure to the sun barbituates sedatives
- tranquilizers chemicals birth control pills
- fasting smoking alcohol
- infections
- too much iron in the body
- emotional and physical stress
- menstrual hormones
- The worst environmental trigger for porphyria caused 4000 people to develop the disease in Turkey, following exposure to a fungicide on grain called hexachloraphene.
Symptoms of Porphyria - the werewolf variant - porphyria cutanea tarda
Symptoms
constipation
sensitivity to the sun,
blisters
cramping
pain in the chest, back, limbs or abdomen
numbness or tinkling sensation
vomiting
mental disorders
constipation
sensitivity to the sun,
blisters
cramping
pain in the chest, back, limbs or abdomen
numbness or tinkling sensation
vomiting
mental disorders
Treatment for Porphyria - blood and more blood
The mainstay treatment is blood or heme transfusions.
Again the vampire stories could have surfaced because prophyria sufferers can drink blood to get the relief they need, though this is not a medical treatment per se.
Other treatments include eliminating iron from the blood or medications. The treatment depends largely on the type of prophyria. Patients who have severe attacks may require hospitalization.
Again the vampire stories could have surfaced because prophyria sufferers can drink blood to get the relief they need, though this is not a medical treatment per se.
Other treatments include eliminating iron from the blood or medications. The treatment depends largely on the type of prophyria. Patients who have severe attacks may require hospitalization.
Porphyriate of an artist as a young man
Vincent Van Gogh was one suspected sufferer of porphyria.
Which explains many of his behavioural abnormalities , as possibly even some of his painting.
Van Gogh ate poorly, drank too much, smoked constantly, and tended to nibble on his paints. All of which could expose him to chemical which would trigger an attack of porphyria.
And the yellow tinge to many of his paintings may be due to a drug - digitalis - that he was taking for a variety of reasons.
Which explains many of his behavioural abnormalities , as possibly even some of his painting.
Van Gogh ate poorly, drank too much, smoked constantly, and tended to nibble on his paints. All of which could expose him to chemical which would trigger an attack of porphyria.
And the yellow tinge to many of his paintings may be due to a drug - digitalis - that he was taking for a variety of reasons.
Lady Vampires
In women the symptoms fluctuate with the menstrual cycle, which means that the symptoms worsen every full moon or so. Eyes turn blood shot, teeth become tinged with red, and some patients even have urine that glows in the dark. (Sort or like PMS but with pee that glows under black light !)
Lips and gums may become so swollen that they are drawn back over the red-tinged teeth in an awful grimace.
Lips and gums may become so swollen that they are drawn back over the red-tinged teeth in an awful grimace.
Medical werewolves
Some people have excessive hair growth on their face and hands. These people may be the ones that were mistaken in the days of olde for werewolves. Today they would just be a gold mine for electrolysis.
(Another theory about the werewolves comes from the Baylor College of Medicine, in Houston, Texas. Researchers there belief that many a hairy teenage werewolf was really suffering from a condition called “ congenital generalized hypertrichosis”. One of the researchers is hoping to isolate this gene one day as a potential cure for baldness.)
(Another theory about the werewolves comes from the Baylor College of Medicine, in Houston, Texas. Researchers there belief that many a hairy teenage werewolf was really suffering from a condition called “ congenital generalized hypertrichosis”. One of the researchers is hoping to isolate this gene one day as a potential cure for baldness.)
Mary, Queen of Scots, was a vampire
But porphyrias are still the prime candidate for vampire related diseases. Some experts believe that as high as one in every four hundred people may have some of the genes for porphyria. I have a few patients like this, as do many of my colleagues. A family with a type of porphyria recently made the front pages of the Sun and Province. They moved to B.C. from South Africa to alleviate their symptoms of this “vampire” disease. The reason - since the sun hardly ever shines in B.C., they felt it would be a healthier place for them to live!
Surprisingly the majority of people with vampire type symptoms are not the Transylvanian lowlifes you would expect - they include royalty and people of literature. Mary, Queen of Scots, may have had this condition. This may be the reason for the recurrent bouts of abdominal pain and bizarre behavior that she showed all through her life.
Surprisingly the majority of people with vampire type symptoms are not the Transylvanian lowlifes you would expect - they include royalty and people of literature. Mary, Queen of Scots, may have had this condition. This may be the reason for the recurrent bouts of abdominal pain and bizarre behavior that she showed all through her life.
George III was a vampire
George III was also affected. There is even a case of what has been called the “Aristocrats disease” recorded in the works of Edgar Allen Poe.
His book the “House of Usher” describes what physicians have jokingly described as the first case of “ Poe-phyria” in classical literature. So vampires actually do exist! .
His book the “House of Usher” describes what physicians have jokingly described as the first case of “ Poe-phyria” in classical literature. So vampires actually do exist! .
Count Dracula
And Count Dracula really existed too. His real name was Vlad Dracul, and he was awarded the Order of Nuremberg in 1431, and people liked him.
It was his son “Vlad the Impaler”“ that gave the family a bad name. He liked to impale peasants on wooden stakes. Later they returned the favor, and a family tradition was born.
" Dracul " in Romanian means "dragon". And so the son of Vlad Dracul became known as Dracula ( 'little dragon"). And he was the one who made the name infamous.
A descendant of “The Count” is currently having a resurgence of the families interest in blood. He is helping the German Red Cross in their blood donation drives. The modern count, whose full name is Ottomar Rudolphe Vlad Dracul Prince Kretzulesco, lives in a crumbling castle on the outskirts of Berlin. As part of his assistance the count advocates donating blood, and also attends special showings of vampire movies for blood donors in Berlin. Donate blood and you can even get his autograph!
So medicine can explain why vampires are obsessed with blood, why they prefer to avoid the daylight, and why they sometimes behave in bizarre and unusual ways. It can even explain some of the historical mysteries of the family of Count Dracula.
If there are other mysteries about blood that intrigue you, perhaps you should start by donating blood yourself sometime, and then begin learning more about the fascinating history of blood and its diseases. Or maybe just have a good howl at the moon this Halloween.
It was his son “Vlad the Impaler”“ that gave the family a bad name. He liked to impale peasants on wooden stakes. Later they returned the favor, and a family tradition was born.
" Dracul " in Romanian means "dragon". And so the son of Vlad Dracul became known as Dracula ( 'little dragon"). And he was the one who made the name infamous.
A descendant of “The Count” is currently having a resurgence of the families interest in blood. He is helping the German Red Cross in their blood donation drives. The modern count, whose full name is Ottomar Rudolphe Vlad Dracul Prince Kretzulesco, lives in a crumbling castle on the outskirts of Berlin. As part of his assistance the count advocates donating blood, and also attends special showings of vampire movies for blood donors in Berlin. Donate blood and you can even get his autograph!
So medicine can explain why vampires are obsessed with blood, why they prefer to avoid the daylight, and why they sometimes behave in bizarre and unusual ways. It can even explain some of the historical mysteries of the family of Count Dracula.
If there are other mysteries about blood that intrigue you, perhaps you should start by donating blood yourself sometime, and then begin learning more about the fascinating history of blood and its diseases. Or maybe just have a good howl at the moon this Halloween.
The real count - Vlad Dracul II ( Vlad the Impaler, Dracula )
He ruled in the Balkan area called Wallachia in the mid 15th Century. He used to like to punish his enemies by impaling them on stakes, then displaying them publicly to terrify his enemies and to warn others of his strick moral code. He may have killed 40,000 to 100,000 people this way.
Dr. Patrick Nesbitt