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+--- Thread: Mary Todd Lincoln's demons blamed on vitamin B-12 deficiency. (/thread-3066.html)
Mary Todd Lincoln's demons blamed on vitamin B-12 deficiency. - Carolyn Mitchell - 07-06-2016 12:08 AM
Saw this article in The Baltimore Sun: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation-world/ct-mary-todd-lincoln-vitamin-b-12-deficiency-20160705-story.html
RE: Mary Todd Lincoln's demons blamed on vitamin B-12 deficiency. - RJNorton - 07-06-2016 03:55 AM
Carolyn, Dr. Sotos is the same doctor who wrote a book called "The Physical Lincoln." In the book Dr. Sotos argues that Abraham Lincoln suffered from a rare genetic cancer syndrome called MEN2B (multiple endocrine neoplasia, type 2B). Dr. Sotos feels Lincoln had less than a year to live when he was assassinated. I wonder if he is now in the early stages of writing one on Mary Lincoln's health.
RE: Mary Todd Lincoln's demons blamed on vitamin B-12 deficiency. - Gene C - 07-06-2016 01:10 PM
Very similar article on CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/06/health/mary-todd-lincoln-pernicious-anemia/index.html
Personally, I think the W A Evans book, which we have discussed on the forum, is likely a much better and thorough diagnosis.
http://rogerjnorton.com/LincolnDiscussionSymposium/thread-1747.html
I guess there is more notoriety and bigger book sales in trying to come up with a new angle to an old story. I could be mistaken, but the two articles haven't convinced me to shell out $25.
https://www.amazon.com/Mary-Lincoln-Mind-Body-Sourcebook-Including/dp/0981819389/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1467827780&sr=1-1&keywords=sotos+mary+Lincoln
What a coincidence that Abraham and Mary suffered from an unidentified medical problem that Dr. Sotos was able to identify 150 years after the fact. (sounds like Government Healthcare)
I will be interested in reading the reviews from members on the forum
RE: Mary Todd Lincoln's demons blamed on vitamin B-12 deficiency. - Eva Elisabeth - 07-06-2016 01:32 PM
Gene, I agree on the Evan's book and feel the same about the rest.
RE: Mary Todd Lincoln's demons blamed on vitamin B-12 deficiency. - ELCore - 07-06-2016 10:05 PM
They left out "Her Satanic Majesty". That has quite a ring to it.
RE: Mary Todd Lincoln's demons blamed on vitamin B-12 deficiency. - Houmes - 07-07-2016 12:43 PM
What a coincidence that Abraham and Mary suffered from an unidentified medical problem that Dr. Sotos was able to identify 150 years after the fact. (sounds like Government Healthcare)
I will be interested in reading the reviews from members on the forum
[/quote]
I would be leery of claims which start as hypothesis, progress to postulate, and then are reported as proven fact. Despite the hefty book (The Physical Lincoln, 506 pages) Dr. Sotos published in 2008, describing physical characteristics of MEN2B and correlating them with the life and anatomy of Abraham Lincoln, he reported half way through the book--but only referred repeatedly by inference--that Mr. Lincoln had to have MENB2. A later documentary sponsored by the National Geographic Channel, using DNA testing by two prominent university labs attempting to validate the claim, could only give results that neither proved nor disproved Lincoln's alleged health issue.
Now Dr. Sotos has taken on Mary Todd Lincoln, reporting she had pernicious anemia, and he again attempts to perform an autopsy when he has no cadaver. Dr. Sotos lists multiple symptoms and behaviors which "may" be consistent with pernicious anemia. The condition is acquired by inadequate diet, or an autoimmune disorder, stomach surgery, tapeworm infection, and celiac disease. The symptoms come on slowly, and they generally occur in the elderly, which doesn't explain why Mary Lincoln had volatile and unpredictable behavior even while a young adult. Plus, advanced cases usually involve great difficulty in walking, and not uncommonly with spastic movement. I don't recall reading of this in multiple biographies of Mary.
He has a personal website (http://www.sotos.com) and calls it "The Celebrated New Web Site of John Sotos A.K.A. Dr Zebra." In medical school the term zebra is used when an obscure or rare disease is confirmed despite presenting as a seemingly common diagnosis.
It's fun to speculate, but making a cottage industry specializing in famous dead people and gaining fame in the process might be a little distasteful to some.