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

Neurological Sciences volume 39, pages 939–940 (2018)Cite this article

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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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the Mäxi Foundation (Switzerland) for supporting this research.

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Author notes

  1. Francesco M. Galassi & Nicole Bender

    Present address: Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland

    Michael E. Habicht

  2. University of Parma, Parma, Italy

    Emanuele Armocida

  3. Post-Graduate School of Public Health, University of Siena, Siena, Italy

    Fabrizio Toscano

  4. Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Division of Clinical Neurology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 9DU, UK

    David A. Menassa

  5. Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, 40126, Bologna, Italy

    Matteo Cerri

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  1. Francesco M. Galassi
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  2. Nicole Bender
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Correspondence to Nicole Bender.

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Galassi, F.M., Bender, N., Habicht, M.E. et al. St. Catherine of Siena (1347–1380 AD): one of the earliest historic cases of altered gustatory perception in anorexia mirabilis. Neurol Sci 39, 939–940 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-018-3285-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-018-3285-6

Keywords

  • History of neurology
  • Palaeopathology
  • Anorexia
  • Dysgeusia
  • St. Catherine of Siena