Bright's disease

Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that would be described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. The term is no longer used, as diseases are now classified according to their more fully understood causes.

It is typically denoted by the presence of serum albumin (blood plasma protein) in the urine, and frequently accompanied by edema and hypertension.

Symptoms

These common symptoms of kidney disease were first described in 1827 by the English physician Richard Bright. It is now known that the symptoms accompany various morbid kidney conditions. Thus, the term Bright's disease is retained strictly for historical application.

The formation of bilateral kidney stones often indicates underlying chronic kidney disease. These stones involve salt crystal formations such as calcium oxalate. Excess serum calcium can result from Hypovitaminosis D or vitamin D deficiency that causes the body initially to lose serum calcium to the point where parathyroid hormone is produced to leach sufficient amounts of calcium from the bones (bone loss) to more than make up the difference (shutting down parathyroid hormone production). Oxalic acid is found in chocolate, peanuts, certain types of berries, and other foods, and when combined with calcium will form calcium oxalate crystal kidney stones that can drive up blood pressure like any other serum salt, block urinary flow within the kidneys, and cause physical kidney damage and pain. Researchers at Rockefeller University Hospital are studying arteriosclerosis in connection with this vitamin D deficiency, calcium plaque build-up, and kidney problems.

The symptoms are usually severe. Back pain, phantom testicular pain in males, elevated blood pressure, vomiting and fever commonly signal an attack. Edema, varying in degree from slight puffiness of the face to an accumulation of fluid sufficient to distend the whole body, and sometimes severely restrict breathing, is very common. Urine is reduced in quantity, is of dark, smoky or bloody color, and has higher levels of albumin (albuminuria). Under the microscope, blood corpuscles and urinary casts are found in abundance.

This state of acute inflammation may severely limit normal daily activities, and if left unchecked, may lead to one of the chronic forms of Bright's disease. In many cases though, the inflammation is reduced, marked by increased urine output and the gradual disappearance of its albumen and other abnormal by-products. A reduction in edema and a rapid recovery of strength usually follows.

Treatment

Acute Bright's disease was treated with local depletion (bleeding OR blood-letting to reduce blood pressure), warm baths, diuretics, and laxatives. There was no successful treatment for chronic Bright's disease, though dietary modifications were sometimes suggested. See Hay diet named after William Howard Hay MD who suffered from the illness and supposedly cured himself after accepted medical methods of the early 1900s failed to do so. The diet involves Alkali and Acid balance through consuming various foods and drink, thereby lowering the kidney's involvement with blood pH balancing.

Notable Sufferers of Bright's disease

• Sir Alexander Mackenzie (1764–1820), Scottish explorer, first European to traverse North America and commercial partner in the North West Company
• Chester A. Arthur, 21st President of the United States
• Abu Bakar of Johor, Sultan of Johor (died 1895)
• Isaac Albéniz, Spanish composer
• Alexander III of Russia
• Madame Blavatsky, founder of the Theosophical Society and author of The Secret Doctrine
• Johnny Behan, Cochise County, Arizona Sheriff and Cow-boy sympathizer, rival of Wyatt Earp
• Isambard Kingdom Brunel, British Engineer
• Mikhail Bulgakov, the twentieth-century Russian author of the novel The Master and Margarita, as well as various other novels and plays
• John Bunny, American Vaudeville and silent film comedian, 1915
• Marie-Rosalie Cadron-Jetté, Canadian nun, midwife, and candidate for sainthood
• George-Étienne Cartier, one of the founders of the Canadian Confederation
• James Creelman, Canadian yellow journalist, died of the disease in February 1915 on his way to cover World War I from the German front
• Louis Cyr, Canadian strongman
• Jessie Bartlett Davis, contralto; mentress of Carrie Jacobs-Bond
• Emily Dickinson, American 19th century poet
• Arthur Dove, American painter
• Antonín Dvořák, Czech composer
• Arnold Ehret (1866-1922) a diet reformer, had cured himself of Bright's disease after he had been given up by medical doctors and after a nature cure could only bring him temporary relief. He discovered that fasting and diet "free of mucus and albumin", consisting mainly of fruits, cured not only his illness but other chronic disease.
• Elizabeth F. Ellet (1818-1877), American writer and poet
• Jean Harlow, "platinum blonde" movie star of the 1930s; died in 1937
• Gregor Mendel, an Augustinian Priest, Abbot and scientist whose paper on Experiments in Plant Hybridization showed that inheritance follows particular laws. His research lead to the science of genetics
• Dean Hart, 36, professional wrestler (member of the Hart family)
• King David Kalakaua, King of Hawai'i, Died January 1891 in San Francisco
• Kitty Kiernan, fiancée of assassinated Irish revolutionary leader and Chairman of the Provisional Government Michael Collins
• H. P. Lovecraft, science-fiction/horror author died from a combination of Bright's Disease and intestinal cancer
• Rowland Hussey Macy, founder of RH Macy & Company (Macy's department store)
• Father Edward McGlynn, Roman Catholic priest and social reformer from New York City, 1900
• Helena Modjeska, Polish-American actress, real-estate investor, and philanthopist, 1909
• Commodore Nutt 19th century dwarf who became famous working for P T Barnum
• Isaac Parker, "Hanging Judge" of the American West
• Linus Pauling, chemist and two-time Nobel laureate was successfully treated for a severe form of Bright's disease by Thomas Addis
• John F. Peto, American painter, 1907
• Howard Pyle, (March 5, 1853 – November 9, 1911) American illustrator and writer
• Bass Reeves, the first black commissioned United States deputy marshal west of the Mississippi River, 1910
• Henry Hobson Richardson, American architect, died of the disease in 1886
• Dante Gabriel Rossetti, leader of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, died of the disease in 1882
• Hannah de Rothschild
• Alice Hathaway Lee Roosevelt, first wife of Theodore Roosevelt
• Richard Warren Sears, founder of Sears, Roebuck and Company
• Father Edward Sorin, founder of the University of Notre Dame and St Edward's University, 1893
• Charles Haddon Spurgeon, English Baptist pastor in London, nicknamed "The Prince of Preachers"
• Victor Trumper, Australia's legendary batsman, one of the best "wet wicket" cricketers Australia ever produced, 1915
• Ellen Wilson, the first wife of US President Woodrow Wilson
• Ross Youngs (1897-1927), Giants outfielder and member of the Baseball Hall of Fame
• William H. Barnum (1818-1889), Industrialist and U. S. Senator