Sacred Disease Research Articles

Energy Dynamics in Seizure Disorder: Reexamining the Sacred Disease

In this paper we explore the dynamic basis of epilepsy, the sacred disease, and show, surprisingly, that in all cases its manifest signs and symptoms correspond to the four-tier vertical framework –material, efficient, formal and final causes – advanced by Aristotle a half-century after the Hippocratic works surfaced. Specifically, impaired energy dynamics during the seizure state transiently disrupt the couplement between the material and formal causal layers of the body precipitating the behavioral alterations that define epilepsy.

Epilepsy in the Hippocratic collection: Seizures and syndromes

Despite extensive scholarship, several questions on the view of seizures and epilepsy in the Hippocratic collection have not been answered. The book ‘On the Sacred Disease’ contains descriptions of focal and generalized tonic-clonic seizures, understands the stigma attached to epilepsy, its association with depression, and probably describes auras. Remarkably, the collection presents a physiologic theory of ‘mental’ disease. Other parts of the collection suggest recognition of syndromes such as childhood febrile seizures. Non-motor seizures are not clearly described. There may be a distinction between ‘acute symptomatic’ and recurrent seizures or ‘epilepsy.’ Analysis of the relative occurrence of terms related to ‘epilepsy’ or ‘spasms’ in an online text collection shows a significant difference: ‘epilepsy’ terms are more frequent when seizures are described alone, while ‘spasm’ terms are more frequent in the context of systemic diseases or injuries. This dichotomy suggests, in contrast to previous accounts, possible understanding of the distinction between ‘idiopathic’ and ‘symptomatic’ seizure disorders.

Heracles and epilepsy: the sacred disease.

Epilepsy is one of the most dreaded and terrifying human afflictions. One of the many names it has received was Sacred Disease, during Greek times. Heracles served as a source of the divine connotation that epilepsy received in ancient times, as he was one of the most important demigods in Greek mythology. However, several authors have attributed Heracles' actions to a seizure, including Hippocrates, who described the sacred disease on his "Corpus Hippocraticum." This paper reviewed some of the publications on the myth and content of the text of Hippocrates, in relation to the current knowledge of the disease.

Epilepsy and Neuroscience: Evolution and Interaction.

Neuroscience is a relatively new and fashionable word that emerged in the 1950s in several countries, including the UK, to describe a multidisciplinary clinical and laboratory approach to the study of the brain, mind, and neuropsychiatric disorders. However collaborative study of neurological and psychiatric disorders can be traced to the 17th century with roots in antiquity. I describe the evolution of our understanding of epilepsy beginning with the first detailed clinical descriptions, associated with supernatural theories, in Babylonian medicine in the second millennium BC. Interest in natural causation arose in the Greco-Roman period when it was first suggested that “the sacred disease” was a disorder of the brain. However, this theory did not take root until the 17th and 18th centuries AD when epilepsy began to be separated from other “convulsive” diseases, including hysteria. In the 19th century developments in neuropathology and our understanding of cortical localization led to the much-debated separation of idiopathic from symptomatic epilepsy which continues to influence international classifications of seizures and epilepsies. Also in the 19th century, the concept of seizures as electrical discharges in the brain evolved, reinforced in the 20th century by the discovery of the electroencephalogram. For many reasons, people with epilepsy have experienced a high incidence of cognitive and psychosocial disorders. Epilepsy, which is a global problem, has, therefore, remained a bridge between neurology and psychiatry. Furthermore, the study of epilepsy continues to shed light on brain function and other neuropsychiatric disorders.

Epilepsy in Greco-Roman Mythology

Objectives Perceptions existed about epilepsy in the ancient Greco-Roman civilization, which is referred to as the primordial age of modern medicine. This study was conducted to explore the ideas of the ancient Greeks and Romans about epilepsy through an investigation of relevant myths that reflected their culture. Methods We used the keywords ‘Greek mythology,’ ‘epilepsy,’ ‘seizure,’ ‘Roman mythology,’ and ‘myth’ in English and Korean to search Google and PubMed for information on epilepsy and seizures in Greek and Roman mythology. Results The ancient Greeks regarded epilepsy as a "sacred disease," and considered it to be a punishment caused by the curses of various gods, especially the goddess of the moon, Selene or Artemis. The story of Cydippe deals with the illness caused by the curse of the goddess of the moon, and the features depicted in the story resemble the symptoms of epilepsy. Furthermore, the stories of Pythia, Hyacinthus, and Hercules seem to be metaphors for the symptoms of epilepsy. Conclusions The descriptions of epilepsy and seizures in Greco-Roman myths are diverse, and can be thought of as an accumulation of the ancients' perceptions and experiences of epilepsy. This can be interpreted from a medical point of view as underscoring the significance of epilepsy and seizures. Key words: Epilepsy; Seizure; Greek mythology; Roman mythology; Myth.

The Sacred Disease of Ancient Times: Epilepsy

The Sacred Disease of Ancient Times: Epilepsy

New epilepsy treatment in children: upcoming strategies and rewind to ancient times and concepts

Abstract The epilepsies are the most common chronic neurological disorders in children. Considerable steps towards a better understanding of different aspects of the once considered ‘sacred disease’ have been made over the last two centuries, culminating in the development of new pharmacological and alternative antiepileptic treatments. However, principles of antiepileptic drug therapies have changed little since their breakthrough in the 20th century and the emphasis still lies on treating the symptom by enhancing inhibitory currents and suppressing excitatory networks rather than on addressing underlying neurobiological mechanisms. Around one third of the patients do not respond to the currently available drugs. New therapeutic strategies are on the horizon comprising inflammatory, immune and intracellular pathway targeting, as well as neuromodulation and novel surgical and dietary interventions. Furthermore, the prospect of personalized treatment for epilepsy using epigenetic and genetic techniques is becoming a reality. We discuss current and new concepts and future possibilities in the effort to cure the epilepsies.

Astrocytes: Stars of the Sacred Disease.

Astrocytes: Stars of the Sacred Disease.

Religiosity and superstitions in chronic neurological disorders

Background: The association between epilepsy and religion stretches back to antiquity. Superstition has always veiled epilepsy, the old name of the disorder, “the sacred disease”, lingering on even today in some parts of the world.

Tlazolteotl, the Aztec goddess of epilepsy.

Epilepsy has afflicted humanity during most of the extent of documented history. The Aztecs believed that illnesses were punishments that were sent from a furious goddess. In particular, epilepsy was considered in Aztec culture as a "sacred disease", and convulsions were traditionally associated with a deified woman who had died at childbirth. As the goddess Shiva and Apasmâra in ancient India and Saint Valentine in Germany, Tlazolteotl was considered able to bring about and send away epilepsy. We performed a comprehensive review to identify Tlazolteotl depictions and its historical context related with epilepsy. Tlazolteotl is one of the most endearing and complex goddesses of the Mesoamericans. She was the deity of the black fertile and fecund earth that gains its energy from death and in turn feeds life. Associated with purification, expiation, and regeneration, she embodied fertility and turned all garbage, physical and metaphysical, into rich life. This article reviews the most relevant artistic works related with Tlazolteotl. We also present a modern depiction of the Aztec goddess of epilepsy from the Mexican artist Eduardo Urbano Merino, displaying the supernatural view of epilepsy in America.

Realidades y controversias en la preeclampsia y eclampsia

La preeclampsia y eclampsia constituyen, durante el embarazo, el desorden que con más frecuencia presenta hipertensión, como uno de los signos que conforman una triada clásica, junto al edema y la proteinuria. La eclampsia, problema tan antiguo como que ya Hipócrates lo denominaba "la enfermedad sagrada" al referirse a las convulsiones; Zweifel en 1916 lo etiquetaba como "la enfermedad de las teorías" y ello porque hasta, incluso, hoy en día se desconoce la causa de su producción, y el definir un cuadro morboso cuando se desconoce la causa, nos depara grandes dificultades.

La "malattia sacra" di Cambise: una diagnosi erodotea?

Cambyse’s ‘sacred disease’: a herodotean diagnosis? The author analyses Herodotus’ choice of his sources in order to ‘strike a balance’ between two recent publications which define Herodotus’ text as almost exclusively ‘religious’ or ‘scientific’. The case study is the description of the figure of Cambyses in the third book of the Histories. There are historical grounds for the narrative of Cambyses’ infamous deeds in Egypt. The traditional thesis of the deprivation of economic privileges for the Egyptian temples by Cambyses as the only cause of his negative fame in ancient historiography should be rejected. It is likely that at least the first part of Cambyses’ reign in Egypt was marked by violent and dramatic changes – which anyway do not include Cambyses’ alleged murder of the bull-god Apis. The influence of Hippocratic medicine on Herodotus’ depiction of Cambyses’ madness should not be overestimated. Although Herodotus is familiar with some ideas and notions shared by contemporary physicians, his narrative of Cambyses’ actions is not strongly conditioned by them, and certainly has no connection with the main thesis of the author of the Hippocratic work named On the sacred disease. The sources and opinions collected by Herodotus do not aim at a ‘scientific’ narrative of a madman’s deeds, but rather at a moral vision of a Persian monarchic power. simone.rendina@sns.it

VI The Gods and Religion

The theme of the gods, of their existence, appearance, and interest in human affairs, was an object of constant attention for the Greeks from the most ancient times. As is widely known, Greek religion presents some highly original features compared with present-day religions: there are no religious texts establishing a body of orthodox doctrines, and no figures to whom worship is officially entrusted. Perhaps precisely because of this fluid situation, the element of the divine marks almost all salient moments in the lives of individuals and cities. This constant presence in itself explains why, from Homer onwards, all writers were so keen to explore the issue of the gods. In particular, many Presocratic philosophers staunchly criticized popular prejudices (often presenting the gods as thieves, adulterers, and seducers) by suggesting alternative and more rigorous conceptions. In doing so, the Presocratics changed the content of the divine, without denying its existence: they opposed the theology of the philosophers to the theology of the poets. The sophists also fit within this broader movement towards the critical redefinition of traditional religiosity, a movement which engaged many leading personalities of the age: let us think of Euripides, of Thucydides’ analysis of the plague, or of the debate on the ‘sacred disease’ (epilepsy) among Hippocratic doctors. In particular, the sophists stand out on account of what we might term their ‘sociological’ perspective: while criticizing the phenomenon of religion, they acknowledged its importance in human life; searching for its causes, they embarked on enquiries into the nature of the gods, the origin of the belief in their existence, their role in people's lives, and myths as a means to convey traditional values.

Hippocrates: the forefather of neurology.

Hippocrates is one of the most influential medical doctors of all times. He started observing and experimenting in times of mysticism and magic. He carried a holistic and humanitarian approach to the patient with examination as the principal approach-inspection, palpation and auscultation are still the most important tools in diagnosing algorithms of today. He had immense experience with the human body most likely due to numerous wound treatments he had performed; some even believe he performed autopsies despite the negative trend at the time. Hippocrates identified the brain as the analyst of the outside world, the interpreter of consciousness and the center of intelligence and willpower. Interestingly, Hippocrates was aware of many valid concepts in neurology; his treatise On the Sacred Disease was the most important for understanding neurology and epilepsy. His other ideas pioneered modern day neurology mentioning neurological diseases like apoplexy, spondylitis, hemiplegia, and paraplegia. Today, 10 % of neurological Pubmed and 7 % of neuroscience Scopus reviews mention Corpus Hippocraticum as one of the sources. Therefore, Hippocrates may be considered as the forefather of neurology.

The Sacred Disease: The Puzzling Genetics of Epileptic Disorders

In the September 12, 2013 issue of Nature, the Epi4K Consortium (Allen etal., 2013) reported sequencing 264patient trios with epileptic encephalopathies. The Consortium focused on genes exceptionally intolerant to sequence variations and found substantial interconnections with autism and intellectual disability gene networks.

What Is Man?

What Is Man? Erik Peterson1 (bio) Psalm 8:5 asks the question, “What is man, that you are mindful of him, the son of man, that you care for him?”2 Because the question “What is man?” can only be answered meaningfully in relation to God, we must ask the question “What is man?” in the Christian sense of the question, and to answer it we must read the Gospel. When we look at the Gospel,3 what strikes us first is the significance attached to the fact that man is ill, physically ill. We need only contrast with this the Greek ideal of humanity, the man of athletic competition, who exposes his naked body to the sun, in order to see that in the Greek instance illness is hardly something to be regarded as proper to human beings. But in the Gospel’s characterization of mankind, illness is strikingly emphasized as an important factor. From the beginning of the Son of Man’s appearance to the end of his public ministry, human beings show up before him with every conceivable kind of illness, from fever to blindness, from paralysis to leprosy. In this way, a quite distinctive view of mankind is expressed. Man is seen [End Page 164] not insofar as he is normal and healthy, but insofar as he is physically defective. Illness belongs to the very definition of the human person who encounters the Son of Man. But it isn’t enough that man appears in the first instance as ill; he is also described as plagued by demons. Already at Jesus’s first appearance in the synagogue, the spirit of an unclean demon draws attention to itself, having taken possession of someone: “He cried aloud, ‘Alas, what do you want of us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, you are the Holy One of God.’ But Jesus threatened him and said, ‘Silence! Depart from him!’ Then the demon cast him down in their midst, doing him no harm, and came out of him” (Lk 4:34–35). We rightly notice that the demonic side of humanity appears before the Son of Man as something negative. The “sacred disease”4 loses its holiness before the Holy One of God. The demonic human being, or more precisely the demon in the human being, is reduced to silence, meaning that before the Son of Man, even the “genius” must be struck dumb.5 Exorcisms of demons, like the curing of illnesses, mark the entire course of Jesus’s ministry. And when Christ sends out the “Twelve” or the “Seventy,” the following is explicitly noted: “And he endowed them with power and authority over demons, and the power to heal illnesses.” This is proof that Jesus’s view of man has passed on to his Church. Man is not only physically defective, but at the same time he is possessed by an alien spirit who robs him of his self-determination: “See, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out; it convulses him, so that he foams at the mouth” (Lk 9:39). Demonic possession is more than illness; behind every case of possession lurks a mysterious knowledge about something, something, however, that cannot be known but only believed. “Right after sunset, they all brought him their sick, who suffered from many kinds of affliction. He laid his hands on every one of them and healed them. From many he also drove out demons. And they cried out, ‘You are the Son of God.’ But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, for they knew that he was the Messiah” (Lk 4:40–41). It is [End Page 165] evening. The sun has already set. The Sabbath is over. A great mass of the possessed croaks out to the world: “You are the Son of God.” We get the sense here that, consciously or unconsciously, a quite specific symbolism is being expressed. The Sabbath is ended. The world’s evening is at hand. The demons have left their dwellings in men’s bodies. Do we not hear them still in Nietzsche’s outcry, “Dionysius against the...

Disentangling complexities in the relationship between religion and psychiatry.

One of the consequences of modernity has been the separation between science and religion. This split has had positive consequences, such as the progress of scientific research and the separation of Church and State in developed societies. On the other hand, religion and science have started to ignore or despise each other, and this has had an impact especially on research and practice in psychiatry as this discipline deals with the most “spiritual” of the diseases, the Geisteskrankheiten (literally, “diseases of the spirit-mind”). Religiosity has often been regarded either as a manifestation of mental disorder or as irrelevant to clinical practice. Pargament and Lomax's article is a precise and comprehensive summary of the new perspectives on the relationship between religion and mental illness. We want to highlight here two important aspects. The first has implications for everyday practice. According to Pargament and Lomax, religion may simply be the idiom through which mental illness is expressed. Indeed, delusions per se are not just a by-product of a brain disease, but the expression of an attempt to cope meaningfully with incomprehensible experiences. Many years ago, Sarro 1 studied in depth the themes of delusions and came to the conclusion that they correspond to the mythologems described by anthropologists in ancient myths and religions. In a similar way, Schneider 2 regarded the delusions of severe depressive states as the expression of the primeval fears of human beings: the fears of not going to be able to survive, to fall ill, or to be condemned for eternity. Considering the delusional manifestations of abnormal states of consciousness, we came to the same conclusion 3: the themes coincide with the everlasting preoccupations of human beings (where do we come from, is there a new life after death, why two sexes, and so on). What is morbid is not the preoccupation, the theme of the delusion, but the fact that it emerges untimely and out of context. In this light, the relatively common presence of religious contents in delusions should not appear surprising. The second aspect is a more general one and concerns the role of religion in the establishment of individual and collective identities and the dangers involved in this process, including religiously based violence and religious struggles within oneself, with others, and with the divine. Recently, we have considered 4 the origin of identification from an anthropologic perspective. According to Lovaglia et al 5, human evolution is the consequence of the pressures precipitated by xenophobia among primates in the past several millions of years. This xenophobia is manifested in deadly raids against individuals of other groups of the same primate kind. The immediate consequences are both intergroup conflicts and intragroup cooperation. According to the theory of social identity 6, the sense of self depends on the identification with a group. Once the identification has been produced, the individuals attribute pleasant and desirable characteristics to the group members and repellent and unpleasant characteristics to individuals outside the group. Religion may be involved in this process but just as one of the many possible elements. The xenophobia may even be oriented toward the body and the evils that come with it: for instance, anorexia nervosa can be interpreted as an identity disorder grounded on the wish to dominate and subdue the body (ascetism) and, therefore, as a sacred disease. Pargament and Lomax's article should be welcome as a very significant contribution to the clarification of the complex relationship between religion and mental illness. Other initiatives worth mentioning are those of the WPA Section on Religion, Spirituality, and Psychiatry (http://www.religionandpsychiatry.com), the WPA publication Psychiatry and Religion: Beyond Boundaries 7, and the Handbook of Religion and Health 8. A growing interest on the religious side in topics concerning psychiatry should also be noticed. The Lopez Ibor chair on Mystical Studies and Mental Health founded by the Order of the Carmelites in Avila (Spain) is a good example (http://www.citesavila.org; http://www.fundacion lopezibor.es).

Magic in the Ancient Greek World

Magic in the Ancient Greek World

Magic in the Ancient Greek World (review)

Reviewed by: Magic in the Ancient Greek World Stephen Morris Derek Collins . Magic in the Ancient Greek World. Oxford: Blackwell, 2008. Pp. xiv + 207. A welcome addition to the Blackwell Ancient Religion series, Collins's study of ancient Greek magical practices both elucidates the practices while examining the mental constructs that support them and suggests avenues for further study. It is a well-written and incisive investigation that opens a world to both specialists and nonspecialists alike. Collins points out that "magic fascinates because we don't understand how others can believe it" (p. 166). He goes a long way in explaining how those beliefs operated. The study is divided into five chapters that focus on a review of attitudes toward magic, providing a framework for Greek magic in particular, the use of figurines in erotic magic and curses, the use of verses from Homer as powerfully evocative incantations, and the legal attitudes toward magic and how those survive into Roman and medieval Western practices. In his examination of figurines used in magic, Collins admits that they often "in no way resemble the human beings who serve as their targets. . . . [the] clay or waxen images at times are lumpy and unshapely, at best rude examples of the persons they are supposed to represent" (p. 18). It is the name of the figurine that identifies the figure with the victim, much as in later practice it is the name inscribed on the (Greek) icons that identify the image with the particular saint. When he turns to questions of health and healing magic (in the context of binding curses), Collins argues that ancient authorities on these matters misunderstood their own subject and that modern interpretations have been too willing to accept ancient authors at their own word. Collins situates the ancient text "On the Sacred Disease" in terms of other ancient discussions of health and illness and concludes that epilepsy, the "sacred disease," is a broader category than one particular ailment; health is equated with "not epileptic," and epilepsy is therefore whatever is "not healthy" (p. 82). He then shows that the curse tablets that enumerate which victim's various body parts are to be afflicted become longer and more specific over time. These extended lists of targeted organs and limbs are indicative of a variety of approaches to the self and may also reflect certain practices related to juridical [End Page 224] torture as well as the conceptual disintegration of the person as an integrated whole instead of simply the sum of his or her parts (pp. 83 ff). When discussing the deposition of erotic figurines (meant to arouse sexual attraction and desire) in the sea, Collins provides interpretations that associate sweat, and hence water, with procreation (p. 118), but it seems that the sea as birthplace of Aphrodite might also be a reasonable explanation for the practice. Regarding the use of Homer's verses (rather than poetry in general) as incantations, this is rooted, Collins argues, in the Neoplatonic opinion that "Homeric poetry preeminently embodied the divinity which also inspired its expression" and that Homer's poetry "still contained divine power" and "retained a sympathy between the cosmic and material world order" (p. 131) as an early form of the later magical principle, "as above, so below." In discussing legal attitudes toward magic, Collins reveals that professionals whose spells go awry or cause illness and death are punished more severely than are amateurs, perhaps because of the reasonable expectation that "professionals should know better" (p. 140). It is also in his examination of legal attitudes toward magic that Collins turns to "one of the most important capital sentences issued with respect to the legislative history of magic," that of burning alive (pp. 161–64). This is perhaps the best known and most long-lived of the punishments for magical practitioners. But its origins are obscure and while Collins suggests possible sources for this practice, its ultimate source is lost in the mists of time. Correctly pointing out that magic is not a static set of immutable practices (p. 169), Collins suggests several avenues for further study and examination of Greek practices. These include the Roman preference to name internal organs...

A milestone in three millennia of epileptology--the centenary of the International League against Epilepsy

In 2009, the International League against Epilepsy celebrated a milestone, the centenary of its inauguration. Nonetheless, it is still a relative newcomer in the 3000 year saga of recorded human epilepsy (Temkin, 1971), and one may wonder why the League should have appeared when it did, what its purpose was and what it has achieved? Over much of the past three millennia, epilepsy has been interpreted either as the result of supernatural interventions of various kinds or as a medical illness whose scientific basis was elusive. Until relatively recently, generalized tonic–clonic convulsive seizures were regarded as the essential manifestation of epilepsy, although minor, non-convulsive or locally convulsive phenomena, sometimes associated with generalized convulsive seizures, were known. Such seizures nearly always occur unpredictably, usually suddenly, have spectacular manifestations and cause temporary yet total interruption of consciousness and loss of bodily function control. It is easy to understand why such phenomena would seem to observers as fearful and disgusting events imposed on unwilling sufferers by extrinsic supernatural agencies, and why the sufferer would often be regarded with suspicion and repulsion rather than with sympathy. From such a background, the present-day scientific understanding of epilepsy had to emerge, slowly. The first assertion that epilepsy was ‘a disease like any other’, and not of supernatural origin, appeared in the Hippocratic writing On the sacred disease , dating from ca .400 BC. The Hippocratic author ingeniously explained the pathogenesis of seizures in terms of cold phlegm from the brain suddenly entering the veins and obstructing the ‘pneuma’, a set of concepts quite foreign to present day thought. In the second century AD, Galen attempted another primitive scientific interpretation of the pathogenesis of convulsive seizures, based on the idea that cerebral function resided in the cavities of the brain's ventricular system. He attributed seizures to a …