Dictator Perpetuus: Julius Caesar—Did he have seizures? If so, what was the etiology?

Hughes, John R.

doi:10.1016/j.yebeh.2004.05.006

Cited by 17 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Although Zhang et al (2002) performed a thorough genetic analysis of the mutant with existing x-ray-induced deficiencies, we observed a higher than expected recombination frequency (14.7%) between sda iso7.8 and the transposon insertion line P[GawB]386Y, which has an insertion site near the gene amon at polytene bands 97C4-97C5 and sda iso7.8 complemented molecularly defined deficiencies from the aminopeptidase N locus. This suggested that the sda locus had been mislocalized to aminopeptidase N. Here we demonstrate that the sda iso7.8 is an allele of an uncharacterized protein-coding gene CG14509, which we name julius seizure (jus), after the Roman emperor who reportedly suffered from epilepsy (Hughes 2004). jus is located at polytene bands 98F10-99A1, over 2.2 Mbp away from the aminopeptidase N gene.…”

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confidence: 74%

julius seizure, a Drosophila Mutant, Defines a Neuronal Population Underlying Epileptogenesis

et al. 2017

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Epilepsy is a neural disorder characterized by recurrent seizures. Bang-sensitive Drosophila represent an important model for studying epilepsy and neuronal excitability. Previous work identified the bang-sensitive gene slamdance (sda) as an allele of the aminopeptidase N gene. Here we show through extensive genetic analysis, including recombination frequency, deficiency mapping, transposon insertion complementation testing, RNA interference (RNAi), and genetic rescue that the gene responsible for the seizure sensitivity is julius seizure (jus), formerly CG14509, which encodes a novel transmembrane domain protein. We also describe more severe genetic alleles of jus. RNAi-mediated knockdown of jus revealed that it is required only in neurons and not glia, and that partial bang-sensitivity is caused by knockdown in GABAergic or cholinergic but not glutamatergic neurons. RNAi knockdown of jus at the early pupal stages leads to strong seizures in adult animals, implicating that stage as critical for epileptogenesis. A C-terminal-tagged version of Jus was generated from a fosmid genomic clone. This fosmid fusion rescued the bang-sensitive phenotype and was expressed in the optic lobes and the subesophageal and thoracic abdominal ganglia. The protein was primarily localized in axons, especially in the neck connectives, extending into the thoracic abdominal ganglion.

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confidence: 74%

julius seizure, a Drosophila Mutant, Defines a Neuronal Population Underlying Epileptogenesis

et al. 2017

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“…His son, Caesarion, and his great-great-great grandnephews Caligula and Britannicus also had seizures. The etiology of epilepsy in this Julio-Claudia family is probably linked to inheritance 5 . This historical legacy has continued to influence public attitude to epilepsy making it a dreaded disease.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 82%

Epilepsy In Nigeria – A Review Of Etiology, Epidemiology And Management

Olubunmi¹

2009

bjpm

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“…These descriptions are insufficient to claim generalized seizures, but there was certainly a focal seizure with alteration of perception The cases of epilepsy in the family opens up speculation about the possibility of sudden unexplained death in epilepsy for the sudden deaths of Caesar's father and grandfather, but there is no proof. It is possible that Caesariun, Caesar and Cleopatra's son, had his first epileptic seizure at three years of age 4 .…”

Section: Julius Caesarmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The clinical signs may have aggravated the epileptic seizures that he had since childhood 4 . A herpetic encephalitis may also be a possible etiology for the event 9 .…”

Section: Caligulamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Remembering Tiberius' clinical signs of a possible segmental dystonia, with cervical spine predominance, as well as dysphonia, one could postulate the possibility of a dystonia type DYT6, with reduced penetrance, in this family 6 . Claudius' son, Britannicus, the fruit of his relationship with his cousin Messalina, had epileptic seizures, probably a generalized primary epilepsy, between six and 13 years of age 2,4,10 .…”

Section: Claudiusmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Searching for neurological diseases in the Julio-Claudian dynasty of the Roman Empire

Camargo

Teive

2018

Arq. Neuro-Psiquiatr.

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The gens Julia was one of the oldest families in ancient Rome, whose members reached the highest positions of power. They made history because Julius Caesar, perpetual dictator, great-uncle of the first emperor, Augustus, passed his name on to the Julio-Claudian dynasty with the emperors Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius and Nero. Descriptions of the diseases of these emperors and some of his family members may indicate diagnoses such as epilepsy, dystonia, dementia, encephalitis, neurosyphilis, peripheral neuropathies, dyslexia, migraine and sleep disorders. In the historical context of ancient Rome, the possibility of infectious diseases related to the libertine way of life is quite large. However, there is a possibility that some of these diseases occurred from genetic transmission.

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Dictator Perpetuus: Julius Caesar—Did he have seizures? If so, what was the etiology?

Cited by 17 publications

References 11 publications

julius seizure, a Drosophila Mutant, Defines a Neuronal Population Underlying Epileptogenesis

julius seizure, a Drosophila Mutant, Defines a Neuronal Population Underlying Epileptogenesis

Epilepsy In Nigeria – A Review Of Etiology, Epidemiology And Management

Searching for neurological diseases in the Julio-Claudian dynasty of the Roman Empire

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