Hallmarks in the History of Epilepsy: From Antiquity Till the Twentieth Centuryглава из книги
Аннотация: Introduction 1.1 First reports on epilepsyThe history of epilepsy is intervened with the history of humanity.One of the first descriptions of epileptic seizures can be traced back to 2,000 B.C. in ancient Akkadian texts, a language widely used in the region of Mesopotamia.The author described a patient with symptoms resembling epilepsy:his neck turns left, his hands and feet are tense and his eyes wide open, and from his mouth froth is flowing without having any conciousness.The exorciser diagnosed the condition as 'antasubbû' (the hand of Sin) brought about by the god of the moon (Labat, 1951).Later reports on epilepsy can also be found in Ancient Egyptian medical texts.The Edwin Smith surgical papyrus (1700 B.C.) refers to epileptic convulsions in at least five cases (cases 4, 7, 29, 40, 42).Descriptions of epilepsy can also be found in ancient babylonian texts; epileptics are thought to be afflicted by evil spirits.(Longrigg, 2000).The Sakikku, one of the oldest Babylonian medical texts (1067-1046 B.C.), refers to epilepsy with the terms 'antasubba' and 'miqtu' 1 .The translated babylonian text describes unilateral and bilateral epileptic fits, the epileptic cry, the incontinence of feces, the description of simple and complex epileptic seizures, the epileptic aura and narcolepsy (Eadie & Bladin, 2001).The Hamurabbi code (1790 B.C.) also refers to epilepsy.The code states that a slave could be returned and the money refunded, if bennu, another word for epilepsy (Stol, 1993), appeared within the month after the purchase.In Indian medicine, Atreya attributed epilepsy to a brain dysfunction and not to divine intervention.In the Caraka Saṃhitā Sutra (6 th century B.C.), he defines epilepsy as:"paroxysmal loss of consciousness due to disturbance of memory and [of] understanding of mind attented with convulsive seizures" (Pirkner, 1929).In the Indian text, four different kinds of epilepsy are descibed along with a description of premonitory symptoms and a type of epilepsy called 'Abasmara', in which the patients lose their memories.1 One can easily note the similarity between the Akkadian word antasubbû and the Babylonian antasubba www.intechopen.comNovel Aspects on Epilepsy 132 1.2 Epilepsy in ancient Greece: the era before Hippocrates The nosological entity of epilepsy is found under many names in Ancient Greek texts: seliniasmos (σε η ασ ό ), sacred disease, Herculian disease (because it affected the semi-god Hercules) or demonism.After all, the word 'epilepsy' (επιληψ α) originates from the Greek verb "epilambanein" (επ α ε ), which means 'to seize, possess, or afflict'.The disease was initially called sacred, because of the belief for its divine origin.In his work Lithica, Orpheus describes eloquently the vengeance of Mene, goddess of the Moon, in the form of epilepsy (Gottfried et al., 1805): ".... to prove them sufferers from the sacred ill For quickly will they bend and forwards tilt, As to earth it draws them.Smeared by froth From their own mouths, hither and tither will they turn, And wallow on the ground.For filled with anger towards them She laughs to see their woe, Mene, the horrid and swift" Ancient Greeks considered epilepsy to be a 'miasma' 2 ( ασ α) which was cast upon the soul.Considered a divine punishment for sinners, an aura of mysticism and superstition surrounded epilepsy; the disease was connected with Selene (Σε η), the goddess of the Moon, since people who offended her were afflicted with epilepsy.Depending on the special symptoms of the epileptic seizure, the Greeks would attribute the fits to a different deity such as Cybele, Poseidon, Mars, Hekate, Hermes or Apollo.According to the Hippocratic texts, for example, if the symptoms included teeth gnashing or convulsions on the right side, then epilepsy was attributed to Cybele, whereas if the patient screamed like a horse, then god Poseidon was to blame (Hippocrate, 1849c).According to Plutarch (50-120 A.D.), all babies in ancient Sparta were examined by the 'Lesche' (Λ σ η), a council of the elder of Sparta; epileptic babies were left to Apothetae, a short chasm of the mountain Taygetus (Plutarch, 1914).Heracletus of Ephesus (535-475 B.C) makes the first reference to the term 'sacred disease', however, not for describing epileptic seizures (Laertius, 1853).Alcmaeon of Croton (6 th B.C.) was the first of the Greek physicians to ascertain that the brain was the organ where 'hegemonicon' (η ε ο ό ) 3 is founded, the source of memory and thoughts (Diels, 1906).Democritus of Abdera (5 th B.C.) wrote a book on epilepsy (Πε επ η α ) which now is extinct, suggesting that the brain is the center of the soul and that cognition and senses were one and the same, originating from the same force (Plutarch, 1888)., the father of history, in the third book of his work The Histories (Thaleia) indirectly refers to epilepsy afflicting the Persian King Cambyses II, whose erratic behavior, according to Herodotus, could be attributed either to the retribution of an aggrieved god or to the so-called 'sacred disease'.Herodotus also noticed the hereditary nature of the disease (ε ε ε ) (Herodotus, 2000). Epilepsy in the Hippocratic corpusThe first formal description of epilepsy as a disease should be attributed to the father of medicine, Hippocrates of Kos, in his classic treatise On the sacred disease (Πε ιε νούσου).In this book, Hippocrates disputes the divine origin of epilepsy by saying: "This disease is in my opinion no more divine than any other; it has the same nature as other diseases, and the cause that gives rise to individual diseases.It is also curable, no less than other illnesses, 2 Miasma: a greek word for pollution, a noxious form of 'bad air' 3 Hegemonicon comes from the word hegemon which means sovereign.www.intechopen.
Год издания: 2011
Источник: InTech eBooks
Ключевые слова: Epilepsy research and treatment, History of Medicine Studies, Neurology and Historical Studies
Другие ссылки: InTech eBooks (PDF)
InTech eBooks (HTML)
BiblioBoard Library Catalog (Open Research Library) (HTML)
InTech eBooks (HTML)
BiblioBoard Library Catalog (Open Research Library) (HTML)
Открытый доступ: hybrid