Saints protectors from leprosy: historical hints of suggestive therapy?
A short overview of several saints, venerated in Christian tradition as protectors from leprosy, is offered as an introduction to a more substantial debate on the possibility and sense of analyzing historical sources and the use of their interpretation for modern medical practice. A possible psychoneuroimmunological mechanism has been advanced to relate some of the healings of leprosy reported in historical materials.
Muzur
Amir
A
Laboratory of Neurophysiology, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts Mental Health Center, 74 Fenwood Road, Boston, MA 02115, USA. amir_muzur@hms.harvard.edu
Skrobonja
Ante
A
Rotschild
Vlasta
V
Skrobonja
Ante
A
D002835:Christianity / Q000266:history*; D049669:History, 16th Century; D049691:History, Medieval; D006801:Humans; D007918:Leprosy / Q000266:history* / Q000628:therapy; D012068:Religion and Medicine; D018597:Saints / Q000266:history*