Julius Caesar's Epilepsy: Was It Caused by A Brain Arteriovenous Malformation?

Nicola Montemurro; Arnau Benet; Michael T Lawton

doi:10.1016/j.wneu.2015.06.041

Julius Caesar's Epilepsy: Was It Caused by A Brain Arteriovenous Malformation?

World Neurosurg. 2015 Dec;84(6):1985-7. doi: 10.1016/j.wneu.2015.06.041. Epub 2015 Jun 25.

Authors

Nicola Montemurro¹, Arnau Benet¹, Michael T Lawton²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurosurgery, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA.
² Department of Neurosurgery, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA; Center for Cerebrovascular Research, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA. Electronic address: Michael.Lawton@ucsf.edu.

PMID: 26118720
DOI: 10.1016/j.wneu.2015.06.041

Abstract

Julius Caesar (100-44 BC) was one of the most charismatic political figures in history. Best remembered for his military achievements, he was also a writer, historian, and statesman. Through his constitutional reforms, he played an important role in the events that led to the end of the Roman Republic and the birth of the Roman Empire. Historical sources reveal that Julius Caesar suffered from headaches, seizures, and personality changes. In this essay, we highlight the life of Julius Caesar, with emphasis on the potential origin of his sickness. Although a definitive diagnosis obviously cannot be made, as new published studies showed a possible cerebrovascular etiology, a new hypothetical diagnosis is presented.

Keywords: Arteriovenous malformation; Epilepsy; Famous neurologic disease; History; Julius Caesar.

Publication types

Biography
Historical Article

MeSH terms

Epilepsy / etiology
Famous Persons
Headache / etiology
History, Ancient
Humans
Intracranial Arteriovenous Malformations / complications
Intracranial Arteriovenous Malformations / history*
Intracranial Arteriovenous Malformations / psychology
Male
Personality Disorders / etiology
Personality Disorders / psychology
Seizures / etiology

Personal name as subject

Julius Caesar