Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte: did he have seizures? Psychogenic or epileptic or both?
Napoleon Bonaparte was a general in the French army at 24 years of age, later conquering most of Europe. He was one of the greatest military geniuses the world has ever known, but also an extremely intelligent individual. Did he have seizures? The evidence shows that he had both psychogenic and epileptic attacks. The psychogenic attacks were likely related to the tremendous stress in his life, and the epileptic seizures were the result of chronic uremia from a severe urethral stricture caused by gonorrhea that was transmitted from his wife, Empress Josephine.
Hughes
John R
JR
Section of Clinical Neurophysiology and Epilepsy, Department of Neurology, University of Illinois, Medical Center, M/C 796, 912 South Wood Street, 60612, Chicago, IL, USA. jhughes@uic.edu
D004827:Epilepsy / Q000209:etiology / Q000266:history*; D005197:Famous Persons; D005602:France; D006069:Gonorrhea / Q000150:complications / Q000266:history; D049672:History, 19th Century; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000266:history*; D011602:Psychophysiologic Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000266:history*; D012640:Seizures / Q000266:history; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000150:complications / Q000266:history; D014511:Uremia / Q000150:complications / Q000266:history