Environmental factors in Tiny Tim's near fatal illness
Le Bonheur Professor Russell Chesney, M.D. believes he knows what was ailing Tiny Tim, the iconic character from Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol." Based on detailed descriptions of both the symptoms and living conditions of 18th century London, Dr. Chesney hypothesizes that Tiny Tim suffered from a combination of rickets and tuberculosis (TB). His findings were published in the March 5 edition of Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.
Dr. Chesney noted during the time the novel was written, 60 percent of children in London had rickets and nearly 50 percent displayed signs of TB. He says this is due to crowded living conditions, poor diets, filth and low exposure to sunlight. The coal-burning city of London in addition to particles from a Indonesian volcanic eruption contributed to blackened skies for many years.
Both rickets and TB can be improved and indeed cured through increased exposure to Vitamin D, which can be obtained through exposure to sunlight and a balanced diet.
As the Ghost of Christmas Present showed Ebenezer Scrooge, Tiny Tim's condition would be fatal without a different course for the boy. According to Dr. Chesney's research, Scrooge could have ensured an improved diet, sunshine exposure and cod liver oil (a common supplement of the day high in Vitamin D) through improved generosity to Bob Cratchit and his family.
Journal reference:
Provided by Le Bonheur Children's Hospital
-
Could cod liver oil help combat tuberculosis?
Dec 20, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Internet generation at risk of rickets: study
Jan 22, 2010 |
not rated yet |
0
-
New findings show vitamin D accelerates recovery from tuberculosis
Jan 06, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
-
First study to examine vitamin D insufficiency in pediatric patients with low bone density
Jun 02, 2008 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Low vitamin D levels may be common in otherwise healthy children
Jul 09, 2007 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Motion perception revisited: High Phi effect challenges established motion perception assumptions
Apr 23, 2013 |
3 / 5 (2) |
2
-
Anything you can do I can do better: Neuromolecular foundations of the superiority illusion (Update)
Apr 02, 2013 |
4.5 / 5 (11) |
5
-
The visual system as economist: Neural resource allocation in visual adaptation
Mar 30, 2013 |
5 / 5 (2) |
9
-
Separate lives: Neuronal and organismal lifespans decoupled
Mar 27, 2013 |
4.9 / 5 (8) |
0
-
Sizing things up: The evolutionary neurobiology of scale invariance
Feb 28, 2013 |
4.8 / 5 (10) |
14
-
Classical and Quantum Mechanics via Lie algebras
Apr 15, 2011
- More from Physics Forums - Independent Research
More news stories
New research identifies risks, interventions for children's GI health
An increasing number of U.S. children are experiencing gastrointestinal issues that require interventions to resolve, according to research presented at Digestive Disease Week (DDW).
Health
May 18, 2013 |
not rated yet |
0
|
Youth who have their first drink during puberty have higher levels of later drinking
Research shows that the earlier the age at which youth take their first alcoholic drink, the greater the risk of developing alcohol problems. Thus, age at first drink (AFD) is generally considered a powerful predictor of ...
Health
May 17, 2013 |
not rated yet |
0
British MPs concerned about parliamentary boozing
One quarter of British lawmakers believe there is an "unhealthy" drinking culture in the Houses of Parliament, according to a survey published on Friday.
Health
May 17, 2013 |
not rated yet |
0
Patient openness to research can depend on race and sex of study personnel
Researchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC) have found that the race and sex of study personnel can influence a patient's decision on whether or not to participate in clinical research.
Health
May 17, 2013 |
not rated yet |
0
Clinical support for patient self-management is rhetoric rather than reality
The processes to allow people to self-manage their own illness are not being used appropriately by health professionals to the benefit of their patients, new research suggests.
Health
May 17, 2013 |
not rated yet |
0
Researchers identify a potential new risk for sleep apnea: Asthma
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin have identified a potential new risk factor for obstructive sleep apnea: asthma. Using data from the National Institutes of Health (Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)-funded Wisconsin ...
Study finds that sleep apnea and Alzheimer's are linked
A new study looking at sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) and markers for Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and neuroimaging adds to the growing body of research linking the two.
Computational tool translates complex data into simplified 2-dimensional images
In their quest to learn more about the variability of cells between and within tissues, biomedical scientists have devised tools capable of simultaneously measuring dozens of characteristics of individual ...
New theory on genesis of osteoarthritis comes with successful therapy in mice
Scientists at Johns Hopkins have turned their view of osteoarthritis (OA) inside out. Literally. Instead of seeing the painful degenerative disease as a problem primarily of the cartilage that cushions joints, ...
Ginger compounds may be effective in treating asthma symptoms
Gourmands and foodies everywhere have long recognized ginger as a great way to add a little peppery zing to both sweet and savory dishes; now, a study from researchers at Columbia University shows purified components of the ...
'Gap' for HIV vaccine efforts after latest setback
The hunt for an HIV vaccine has gobbled up $8 billion in the past decade, and the failure of the most recent efficacy trial has delivered yet another setback to 26 years of efforts.
