ARSENIC poisoning may have contributed to the madness of Britain鈥檚 King George III.
George III suffered five major bouts of mental derangement during which he was bound in a straitjacket and chained to a chair to control his ravings. Scientists agree that his behaviour was caused by porphyria, a genetic defect that leads to faulty protein synthesis in the body and accounts for the king鈥檚 physical and psychiatric symptoms. But despite years of speculation, nobody could explain conclusively why his attacks were so severe and lasted for so long, until now.
Researchers analysed strands of the king鈥檚 hair looking for signs of lead or mercury exposure that could have explained his symptoms. Instead, they were surprised to find high concentrations of arsenic, which could have come from his medication (The Lancet, vol 366, p 332). 鈥淭he level was a thousand times as high as in our control samples and 17 times as high as the amount associated with arsenic poisoning,鈥� says Martin Warren at the University of Kent, UK.
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Warren and his colleagues searched through the king鈥檚 medical notes and found that he was given a compound called emetic tartar to alleviate the severe stomach cramps associated with porphyria. 鈥淭hese drugs, which were supposed to make him feel better, were probably contaminated with arsenic,鈥� says Warren. 鈥淭hey only exacerbated his illness.鈥�
