Bright's disease is a historical classification of
kidney diseases that are described in modern
medicine
Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, and Health promotion ...
as
acute or
chronic nephritis
Nephritis is inflammation of the kidneys and may involve the glomeruli, tubules, or interstitial tissue surrounding the glomeruli and tubules. It is one of several different types of nephropathy.
Types
* Glomerulonephritis is inflammation of th ...
.
It was characterized by
swelling and the presence of
albumin in the
urine, and was frequently accompanied by
high blood pressure and
heart disease.
Signs and symptoms
The
symptom
Signs and symptoms are the observed or detectable signs, and experienced symptoms of an illness, injury, or condition. A sign for example may be a higher or lower temperature than normal, raised or lowered blood pressure or an abnormality showin ...
s and signs of Bright's disease were first described in 1827 by the English physician
Richard Bright, after whom the disease was named. In his ''Reports of Medical Cases'',
he described 25 cases of
dropsy (
edema) which he attributed to kidney disease. Symptoms and signs included:
inflammation
Inflammation (from la, wikt:en:inflammatio#Latin, inflammatio) is part of the complex biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or Irritation, irritants, and is a protective response involving im ...
of
serous membranes,
hemorrhages,
apoplexy,
convulsion
A convulsion is a medical condition where the body muscles contract and relax rapidly and repeatedly, resulting in uncontrolled shaking. Because epileptic seizures typically include convulsions, the term ''convulsion'' is sometimes used as a ...
s,
blindness and
coma.
Many of these cases were found to have
albumin in their urine (detected by the spoon and candle-heat coagulation), and showed striking morbid changes of the kidneys at
autopsy.
The triad of dropsy, albumin in the urine, and kidney disease came to be regarded as characteristic of Bright's disease.
Subsequent work by Bright and others indicated an association with
cardiac hypertrophy
Ventricular hypertrophy (VH) is thickening of the walls of a ventricle (lower chamber) of the heart. Although left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is more common, right ventricular hypertrophy (RVH), as well as concurrent hypertrophy of both ventri ...
, which Bright attributed to stimulation of the heart.
Frederick Akbar Mahomed showed that a rise in blood pressure could precede the appearance of albumin in the urine, and the rise in blood pressure and increased resistance to flow was believed to explain the cardiac hypertrophy.
It is now known that Bright's disease is caused by a wide and diverse range of kidney diseases;
thus, the term ''Bright's disease'' is retained strictly for historical application.
The disease was diagnosed frequently in
diabetic patients;
at least some of these cases would probably correspond to a modern diagnosis of
diabetic nephropathy.
Treatment
Bright's disease was historically treated with warm baths,
blood-letting
Bloodletting (or blood-letting) is the withdrawal of blood from a patient to prevent or cure illness and disease. Bloodletting, whether by a physician or by leeches, was based on an ancient system of medicine in which blood and other bodily flu ...
,
squill,
digitalis,
mercuric compounds,
opium
Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which i ...
,
diuretics,
laxative
Laxatives, purgatives, or aperients are substances that loosen stools and increase bowel movements. They are used to treat and prevent constipation.
Laxatives vary as to how they work and the side effects they may have. Certain stimulant, lub ...
s,
and
dietary therapy
Chinese food therapy (, also called nutrition therapy and dietary therapy) is a mode of dieting rooted in Chinese beliefs concerning the effects of food on the human organism, and centered on concepts such as eating in moderation. Its basic pr ...
, including abstinence from
alcoholic drink
An alcoholic beverage (also called an alcoholic drink, adult beverage, or a drink) is a drink that contains ethanol, a type of alcohol that acts as a drug and is produced by fermentation of grains, fruits, or other sources of sugar. The con ...
s,
cheese and
red meat.
Arnold Ehret was diagnosed with Bright's disease and pronounced incurable by 24 of Europe's most respected doctors; he designed ''The
Mucus
Mucus ( ) is a slippery aqueous secretion produced by, and covering, mucous membranes. It is typically produced from cells found in mucous glands, although it may also originate from mixed glands, which contain both serous and mucous cells. It ...
less Diet Healing System'', which apparently cured his illness.
William Howard Hay
William Howard Hay (December 14, 1866 – 1940) was an American physician and director of The East Aurora Sun and Diet Sanatorium. He is principally known for the ' Hay diet', a food-combining dietary system.
Career
Hay graduated from the New ...
,
MD had the illness and, it is claimed, cured himself using the
Hay diet.
Society and culture
List of people diagnosed with Bright's disease
*
Isambard Kingdom Brunel,
polymath and
civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...
, was diagnosed in 1858, but died on 15 September 1859 of a stroke.
*
Robert Stephenson,
mechanical engineer, was diagnosed with the disease in 1850.
*
Baseball Hall of Fame member and
Detroit Tigers center fielder
Ty Cobb was diagnosed with a list of ailments, including Bright's disease, in 1959.
*
Frederick William Faber, Catholic priest and author, died on 26 September 1863.
*
George-Étienne Cartier, Founding Father of the Confederation of
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...
, died on 20 May 1873.
*
Rowland Hussey Macy Sr., an American businessman and founder of the department store chain
R.H. Macy & Company, died on 29 March 1877 in Paris.
* Tabeguache Ute chief
Ouray died of Bright's disease on 24 August 1880.
* The famous dwarf
Commodore Nutt
George Washington Morrison Nutt (April 1, 1848 – May 25, 1881), better known by his stage name Commodore Nutt, was an American dwarf and an entertainer associated with P. T. Barnum. In 1861, Nutt was touring New England with a circus when Bar ...
died in
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
on 25 May 1881.
*
Alice Hathaway Lee Roosevelt, first wife of
Theodore Roosevelt, died on 14 February 1884 due to kidney failure caused by Bright's disease that was worsened due to pregnancy.
*
Gregor Mendel
Gregor Johann Mendel, OSA (; cs, Řehoř Jan Mendel; 20 July 1822 – 6 January 1884) was a biologist, meteorologist, mathematician, Augustinian friar and abbot of St. Thomas' Abbey in Brünn (''Brno''), Margraviate of Moravia. Mendel wa ...
died on 6 January 1884 at the age of 61.
* American tennis pioneer
Mary Ewing Outerbridge died at the age of 34, on 3 May 1886.
* Poet
Emily Dickinson died 15 May 1886.
*
Chester Alan Arthur, 21st President of the United States, died 18 November 1886.
* Swedish-American mechanical engineer
John Ericsson, most famous for designing , died on 8 March 1889.
* American
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...
pitcher,
Larry Corcoran, died 14 October 1891.
*
Paul Anderson, American
Olympic gold medallist weightlifter, died 15 August 1994. In 1961, he and his wife Glenda founded the Paul Anderson Youth Home in
Vidalia, Georgia.
*
Charles H. Spurgeon, London pastor known as "The Prince of Preachers", died in 1892 at the age of 57 of Bright's disease.
* Famed
gunfighter Luke Short was diagnosed with Bright's disease in early 1893, but died on 8 September of that year due to
edema.
* Union general
Francis Barlow, who had played an important role in the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...
, died on 11 January 1896.
* Federal Judge
Isaac Parker died on 17 November 1896, in Fort Smith, Arkansas.
* Soldier and ornithologist
Charles Bendire died in 1897.
* Actress
Caroline Miskel Hoyt
Caroline Miskel Hoyt (born Caroline Miskel Scales, 1873–1898) was an American stage actress who became the second wife of playwright Charles H. Hoyt.
Early life
Caroline Miskel Scales, who later adopted the professional name Caroline Miskel, ...
, aged 25, died 2 October 1898, after childbirth.
* Socialite
Katherine Jane Chase, daughter of Supreme Court Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase, died 31 July 1899, at age 58.
*
John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute
John Patrick Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute, (12 September 1847 – 9 October 1900) was a landed aristocracy, aristocrat, industrial magnate, antiquarian, scholar, philanthropist, and architectural patron.
Succeeding to the Marquess of ...
, the Victorian aristocrat and industrial magnate whose vast expenditure on buildings makes him the pre-eminent architectural patron of the 19th century. Diagnosed with Bright's disease and died after multiple strokes on 9 October 1900.
* American bare-knuckle heavyweight champion
Paddy Ryan died on 14 December 1900 in Green Island, New York. Bright's was not an entirely uncommon disease among early boxers who took frequent pounding to the abdomen in their careers.
* 32nd Speaker of the US House of Representatives
Thomas Brackett Reed (18 October 1839 – 7 December 1902), American politician from the state of Maine, died on 7 December 1902 in Washington, D.C.
*
Roswell Eaton Goodell, American politician and businessman who died of Bright's disease on 9 October 1903, in
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...
,
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...
.
* Victorian actress
Helena Modjeska, died on 8 April 1909.
* North Dakota Senator
Martin Nelson Johnson
Martin Nelson Johnson (March 3, 1850October 21, 1909) was an American attorney and politician who served as a United States representative and senator from North Dakota.
Early life and education
Born to Norwegian immigrants in Racine County, Wisc ...
, died on 21 October 1909.
* Old West lawman
Bass Reeves' death in 1910 was attributed to this disease.
*
Charles Cotton, English footballer who died on 3 January 1910 after a five-week illness.
* American illustrator
Howard Pyle died 9 November 1911.
*
Warren S. Johnson
Warren Seymour Johnson (November 6, 1847 – December 5, 1911) was an American college professor who was frustrated by his inability to regulate individual classroom temperatures. His multi-zone pneumatic control system solved the problem. Johnson ...
, founder of
Johnson Controls, died on 5 December 1911, at the age of 64.
*
James S. Sherman
James Schoolcraft Sherman (October 24, 1855 – October 30, 1912) was an American politician who was a United States representative from New York from 1887 to 1891 and 1893 to 1909, and the 27th vice president of the United States under President ...
, Vice President of the United States from 1909 until his death in 1912.
*
Okakura Kakuzo, Japanese scholar, died on 2 September 1913.
*
Ellen Axson Wilson, first wife of
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of P ...
, died on 6 August 1914.
*
Richard Warren Sears, an American businessman and founder of the department store chain
Sears, Roebuck and Company, died on 28 September 1914 in
Waukesha, Wisconsin.
* Woodsman Louis "
French Louie
Louis Seymour, known as "French Louie" or "Adirondack French Louie" (c. 1832–February 28, 1915) was an Adirondack guide, trapper, woodsman and hermit. His age was unknown, but his death certificate said he was 84. He was born near Ottawa, Canada ...
" Seymour died on 28 February 1915.
*
John Bunny, comic star of the early motion picture era, died on 26 April 1915.
* Australian cricketer
Victor Trumper died at age 37, in June 1915.
*
Booker T. Washington, founder of
Tuskegee University, died in November 1915.
* Albert Carl "Al" Ringling (1852–1916), eldest of the
Ringling brothers, died at the age of 63 in Wisconsin.
*
Charles Sumner Sedgwick, architect based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, died in 1922.
* Baseball Hall of Famer
Ross Youngs died on 22 October 1927.
* 19th-century stage actress
Alice Harrison
Alice Harrison (c. 1849 – May 3, 1896) was a 19th-century stage actress.
Career
Harrison performed for numerous companies over her career, including the California Western Stock Company in San Francisco. As part of her tenure in New York, s ...
died of Bright's disease in 1896.
* Spanish composer
Isaac Albéniz began suffering from Bright's disease in 1900, and died on 18 May 1909.
*
Robert Stroud "the birdman of Alcatraz" was diagnosed with Bright's disease in Leavenworth prison shortly after he began his original sentence.
*
James McHenry Jones
James McHenry Jones (August 28, 1859 – September 22, 1909) was an American educator, school administrator, businessperson, and minister. Jones was the third principal of the West Virginia Colored Institute (present-day West Virgini ...
, African American educator, school administrator, businessperson, and minister.
*
Billy Miske
Billy Miske, alias ''The Saint Paul Thunderbolt'' (April 12, 1894 – January 1, 1924), was a professional boxer from Saint Paul, Minnesota. During his tenure as a pugilist he had multiple-bout series with a plethora of all-time greats including ...
, American light heavyweight and heavyweight boxer, who once fought Jack Dempsey for the World Heavyweight Boxing title, died from Bright's Disease on 1 January 1924 (aged 29).
* James Dennison Sebring, played in the 1903 World Series with the Pittsburgh Pirates and was the first player in World Series history to hit a home run. He died of Bright's disease 22 December 1909 at the age of 27.
*
Kitty Kiernan, fiancée of Irish Revolutionary
Michael Collins (Irish Leader)
Michael Collins ( ga, Mícheál Ó Coileáin; 16 October 1890 – 22 August 1922) was an Irish revolutionary period, Irish revolutionary, soldier and politician who was a leading figure in the early-20th century struggle for Irish independence. ...
, died of complications thought to be related to Bright's disease on 25 July 1945.
*
Kate Shelley
Catherine Carroll "Kate" Shelley (December 12, 1863 – January 21, 1912) was a midwestern United States railroad heroine and the first woman in the United States to have a bridge named after her, the Kate Shelley High Bridge. She was also one of ...
, railroad heroine and the first woman in the United States to have a bridge named after her, the
Kate Shelley High Bridge, died of Bright's Disease on 21 January 1912.
*
Henry Hobson Richardson, prominent North American architect, best known for his work in a style that became known as Richardsonian Romanesque, died of Bright's Disease on 27 April 1886 (aged 47).
*
Wayne Munn, professional wrestler and collegiate football player, died of Bright's Disease in 1931.
*
Matthew B. Brady
Mathew B. Brady ( – January 15, 1896) was one of the earliest photographers in American history. Best known for his scenes of the Civil War, he studied under inventor Samuel Morse, who pioneered the daguerreotype technique in America. Brady ...
, early American photographer, died of Bright's disease on 15 January 1896.
References
{{Reflist
Kidney diseases
Obsolete medical terms
1827 in science