The contents of Darwin's disease which was unknown so far were found, and possibility that it was infected with H. pylori etc.

"Theory of evolution"It surprised the world with, leaving a great footprint in the history of natural scienceCharles DarwinAlthough it has not been understood so far what kind of thing it was about the disease which caused him to suffer from that later life and eventually caused death, due to recent advances in medicine, It seems that cause and symptom are becoming known.

Details are as below.Solving Darwin's Medical Mystery - WSJ.com

Darwin was born in England in 1809 and was sick in 1882. During that life, he suffered from severe abdominal pain and repeatedly vomited repeatedly with every meal when it was terrible. At that time, the famous doctors in the UK diagnosed Darwin,Lactose intoleranceYaLead poisoning,Hypochondriasis,schizophreniaAlthough it was mentioned as a disease name, it was impossible to cure the disease.

Dr. Sidney Cohen, a gastrointestinal specialist at Thomas Jefferson University School of Medicine who revalidated this Darwin's disease from the viewpoint of modern medicine, said, "When I look at the history of life in Darwin, We can not reduce it, "he said," I believe he was suffering from multiple diseases, "DarwinHelicobacter pyloriWe point out the possibility of being infected with pathogens such as.

Picture of Helicobacter pylori. By decomposing urea in the stomach into ammonia and carbon dioxide, it can locally neutralize stomach acid with the generated ammonia and survive in the stomach.


A review of Darwin's illnesses was held at a conference on outstanding diseases of historical figures held at the University of Maryland every year. In the past, at the conference, in the past Amenhotep IV was thought to be hereditary feminized breast disease (aromatase hyperaemia), and that Colombus suffered from later years is due to infection from a parrot that he brought back from the New World It is pointed out that it is things.

A description of the disease of a historical person is often recorded by the hand of a person who does not have medical knowledge, and the record on Darwin's disease is considerably modern compared with the person of BC and others Although it is still still at that timeMRIAlsoCTBecause it was a time when there was nothing, Dr. Cohen said that it was necessary to investigate various photographs of Darwin, his books, and their families in order to judge the disease.

As a result, Dr. Cohen said, "First of all, it seems to be definite for the periodic vomiting syndrome (CVS), which accounts for many of the symptoms he suffered over the years," CVS said Darwin I will point out that it surely existed as one of the diseases. CVS is said to be acetonehemic emesis, many diseases that develop in early childhood cause vomiting of unknown cause and symptoms may continue for decades.

However, CVS alone can not explain the heart disease that caused direct death. About this, Dr. Cohen pointed out that Darwin was infected with Chagas' disease from local insects when Darwin was in the Andes of South America in 1835. Chagas diseaseA turtleIt infects humans with mediation, causing myocarditis, cardiac disorders such as cardiac hypertrophy, etc. It also matches Darwin's symptoms because it has a latency period of many years.

A kind of tortoise. There are species that suck blood from humans, etc. It is a mediator of Chagas' disease infection.


Infection with Chagas' disease also often induces infection with Helicobacter pylori, and Helicobacter pylori is known to cause ulcer in stomach and duodenum, which also caused vomiting and abdominal pain It seems to be thought that it is.

Another review of the Alexander the Great and the Nightingale is being held at the University of Maryland conference, and this conference will continue every year in the future. Among them, there may be surprising discoveries about the possession of a historical person and the cause of death.