President Lincoln's Gait

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Associated Press are reporting:
Disease May Have Caused Lincoln's Gait
January 27, 2006 04:07:23 PM PST

 

Netizens

Lincoln was supposed to have had a club foot which is not an uncommon complication of Marfan's Syndrome. According to Colin Dagnal, he required regular corn cutting and had his personal chiropodist, Zacharie. The corn cutter was in great demand and gave himself the title of Chiropodist General to the US Cavalry. Zacharie was a colourful character and many think he may have been a double agent giving his information to the Confederacy. It has also been postulated that Lincoln deliberately leaked disinformation to Zacherie knowing he would blindly pass it on. Whatever Lincoln and Zacharie became close friends and it is recorded that Lincoln's chiropodist was a frequent visitor to the Whitehouse. It is also recorded he visited the US Mint many times and misappropriated a fortune which he was never caught nor punished for.

Cameron

 

Marfan's syndrome does not cause "club foot" to my knowledge. Instead, Marfan's syndrome is an autosomal dominant disorder that affects the production of fibrillin in connective tissue. People with Marfan's syndrome tend to have pes plano valgus foot structure, not "club foot".

Other than Lincoln, other "celebrities" that may have had, or currently have Marfan's syndrome, include Julius Caesar, Charles de Gaulle, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Mary Queen of Scots, violinist Niccolò Paganini, and possibly Charles Maurice de Talleyrand. A recent book suggested that the ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten) may also have had the condition. American politlcal columnist Ann Coulter allegedly suffers from Marfan syndrome. Osama bin Laden is also rumored to have Marfan syndrome.

Volleyball star Flo Hyman, a known Marfan sufferer, and musical theater composer Jonathan Larson, believed to have been a Marfan sufferer, both died of aortic dissection. Another World actor Brent Collins was a dwarf with Marfan syndrome, who eventually grew in a short spurt late in life, which led to his death. The late character actor Vincent Schiavelli suffered from Marfan syndrome, and was an honorary co-chairman of The National Marfan Foundation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marfan's_syndrome

 

Kevin

Beg to differ on this one . Club foot is not uncommon to Marfan's Sydrome. Not typical I would agree but is found in association. No one is sure what the reason for this is and it may be a birth defect caused by an interuterine event.

Cameron

 

Have a swiz

http://www.marfan.org/nmf/GetContentRequestHandler.do?type=print&menu_item_id=84

Cameron

 

Your link above is in reference to Loeys-Dietz syndrome, not Marfan's syndrome. I just checked McGlamry's Comprehensive Textbook of Foot and Ankle Surgery and also Steven DeValentine's Foot and Ankle Disorder's in Children and Marfan's syndrome was not listed as one of the etiologies of congenital talipes equinovarus deformity (clubfoot).

I would be interested if you could provide an academic text or published paper which states that clubfoot is not uncommon to Marfan's syndrome.

I have done a lot of reading on Marfan's syndrome and have provided the initial diagnosis of Marfan's syndrome on many patients even when they were in their 40s and 50s. However, in all my reading on the subject and observation of the feet of these individuals, I have never come across the notion that Marfan's syndrome is associated with congenital talipes equinovarus deformity.

 

As always I would need to bow to your superior knowledge. I profess no expretise in marfans. Lincoln did have a club foot however and I understand this is indicated in his famous statue.

Cheers
Cameron

 

Even though I haven't seen the statue at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington in many years, I don't believe that his shoes in the statue looked abnormal in any way.

http://dc.about.com/od/monuments/ss/MonumentPhotos_3.htm

It was my understanding that Lincoln had flatfeet, but I am unsure of the source of this information. We do know that a few observers reported that he had a relatively unusual gait pattern which was described as being somewhat slow, awkward and ungainly. Whether this was due to Marfan's or the spinocerebellar ataxia, is unknown. However, I just finished listening to an audiobook two days ago "Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln" by Doris Kearns Goodwin, which I found to be an excellent description of his political prowess and amazing personality. Abraham Lincoln simply functioned on a higher moral plane than any others of his era and is probably one of the most inspirational presidents of our relatively young country. Fascinating!

 

Kevin

I take it you are a fan of his. I suppose we just have to agree he was challenged with foot ailments, causation unknown.

Zacharie is an interesting character.

Have a good one
Cameron

 

From the Washington Jewish Week:
Lincoln's Jewish chiropodist and other presidential tales

Full story

 

This has just been reported:
Grave of Abraham Lincoln's chiropodist is found in Highgate Cemetery
Published: 26 February 2013

Full story

 

Another story on this:
Lincoln's chiropodist gets star treatment at London's Highgate Cemetery

Full story

 

Funny thing Marfans; back in 1988 at the school of pod I was then working at, a "funny looking" women in her early 30's presented. I referred her back to her GP suggesting that she may have Marfans syndrome. It was dismissed and we were told "not to interfere in what we did not understand". 3 weeks later she was found dead on the lliving room floor - a stripping aorta (or was in an anurism - forget now). She was pregnant at the time. Always remember these things.........

 

Most likely she died of a dissecting aneurism in the aorta, a relatively common cause of sudden death in patients with Marfan's syndrome.

A number of notable individuals have died from aortic aneurysm/dissecting aneurysm due to Marfan's syndrome.