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Jeremy Adler, PhD
Nottingham, United Kingdom

JAMA. 1997;277(16):1275.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

To the Editor.

—In adding to the possible causes of Darwin's chronic ill health, Drs Barloon and Noyes¹ pay little attention to the proposal made by my uncle² that Darwin suffered from Chagas disease, a view widely accepted. Medawar³ strongly endorsed this suggestion "in being based upon the use of reasoning." The case, recently restated,⁴ rests on Darwin's detailed description of an attack on March 26, 1835, by the benchuca (Triatoma infestane), the vector for Trypanosoma cruzi, his prior excellent health, the accordance of Darwin's symptoms with Chagas disease, and the characteristic delay between exposure and the onset of chronic ill health.

Barloon and Noyes quote selectively from Darwin's notes, creating the impression that he primarily suffered from acute episodic attacks of panic and agoraphobia. This is incorrect, and Darwin in 1845 described his condition thus: "I believe I have not had one whole day, or rather night, . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Footnotes
Edited by Margaret A. Winker, MD, Senior Editor, and Phil B. Fontanarosa, MD, Senior Editor.

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