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01-05-2018 | Brief Communication

St. Catherine of Siena (1347–1380 AD): one of the earliest historic cases of altered gustatory perception in anorexia mirabilis

Authors: Francesco M. Galassi, Nicole Bender, Michael E. Habicht, Emanuele Armocida, Fabrizio Toscano, David A. Menassa, Matteo Cerri

Published in: Neurological Sciences | Issue 5/2018

Abstract

St. Catherine of Siena suffered from an extreme form of holy fasting, a condition classified as anorexia mirabilis (also known as inedia prodigiosa). Historical and medical scholarships alike have drawn a comparison between this primaeval type of anorexia with a relatively common form of eating disorder among young women in the modern world, anorexia nervosa. St. Catherine’s condition was characterised by a disgust for sweet taste, a condition also described in anorexia nervosa, and characterised by specific neurophysiological changes in the brain. St. Catherine’s case may be considered one of the oldest veritable descriptions of altered gustation (dysgeusia). Moreover, a more compelling neurophysiological similarity between anorexia mirabilis and anorexia nervosa may be proposed.

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Title: St. Catherine of Siena (1347–1380 AD): one of the earliest historic cases of altered gustatory perception in anorexia mirabilis
Authors: Francesco M. Galassi
Nicole Bender
Michael E. Habicht
Emanuele Armocida
Fabrizio Toscano
David A. Menassa
Matteo Cerri
Publication date: 01-05-2018
Publisher: Springer Milan
Published in: Neurological Sciences / Issue 5/2018
Print ISSN: 1590-1874
Electronic ISSN: 1590-3478
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-018-3285-6

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St. Catherine of Siena (1347–1380 AD): one of the earliest historic cases of altered gustatory perception in anorexia mirabilis

Abstract

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Abstract

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