Newsletter No. 478

478 • 19.5.2016 5 The dashed lines stand for the large-scale B-field observed using the Viper telescope in Antarctica, on top of the infrared photo of NGC6334 composed by Sarah Willis using data acquired by the Herschel satellite telescope A numerical simulation, carried out by Dr. Frank Otto, of magnetized turbulent cloud. The red lines stand for B-field directions. Colours stands for gas densities (Red–high and blue–low) Frank Otto博士對磁性湍流雲作出的數值模擬。紅線代表磁場方向， 紅色部分顯示高密度雲氣；藍色部分顯示低密度雲氣 NGC6334的紅外光圖片，由 Sarah Willis 以從赫歇爾衛星望遠鏡收集到的數據製成。虛線顯示以南極洲蝰蛇望遠鏡觀測到的大型磁場 莎士比亞與生老病死 Shakespeare's Health Issues 今年是莎士比亞逝世四百年，全球一整年都有紀念活動，連 著名醫學期刊《刺針》本月也出了莎翁專號。 莎劇裏的生老病死真的是多不勝數。一般的讀者看到的 李爾王，可能只不過是個脾氣暴躁、多疑難測的老人，悲劇 自己一手造成，但醫生看到的可能是一個患有路易氏體型失 智症的病人。 路易氏體型失智症是一種漸進的腦神經退化狀態，患者會 見到幻象，神智一時清醒一時糊塗，還會出現其他柏金遜症 的症狀如肌肉僵硬及震顫等。 莎劇中的帝王將相多有不同缺陷。理察三世是駝子（脊柱後 凸症），數年前李斯特城出土的理察三世骸骨已經證明這 點。在《凱撒大帝》中，卡西烏斯對布魯塔憶述他見到凱撒 癲癎發作的樣子，把凱撒從神祇降回凡人，從而慫恿布魯塔 加入刺殺凱撒行列。 評者一致認為莎士比亞的醫學知識比同代人淵博。從《亨利 四世第二部》中的幾行，甚至看到他走得比時代先，預示了 現代免疫法的原理。 《刺針》專號中莎劇學者 Jonathan Bate 這樣寫道：「莎劇 四百年來歷久不衰，原因是作者有着優秀醫師般的細微觀察 力。……而且和優秀醫師一樣，莎士比亞永遠不會把人看成 是一大堆症候，和加上一個診斷的標籤。……他為人類的堅 毅喝彩，雖然對伴隨老年而來的衰朽與傷感無奈。」 This year the world celebrates the 400th anniversary of the Bard’s death. Even the leading medical journal Lancet puts out a special Shakespeare-themed issue this month. Shakespeare’s copious references to medical conditions in his plays are well-known. An ordinary reader will find a cantankerous old man in King Lear, whose unpredictable mood swings have made him disown a loyal daughter and brought tragedy upon himself. But a medical practitioner may see a patient suffering from Lewy body dementia (LBD). LBD is a progressive neurodegenerative condition. Its symptoms include visual hallucinations, alternating periods of confusion and alertness, and other symptoms of Parkinson's disease such as rigid muscles and tremors. Other monarchs in his plays are variously afflicted. King Richard III was a hunchback (kyphosis), confirmed a few years ago by the excavation of his remains in Leicester City. Cassius tells Brutus about Caesar’s epilepsy: He had a fever when he was in Spain, And when the fit was on him I did mark How he did shake. 'Tis true, this god did shake! ( Julius Caesar , 1.2.119–121) Shakespeare has not only shown prodigious knowledge in medicine but also prescience. The following is often cited to suggest the presaging of immunization long before it became a medical reality: In poison there is physic, and these news, Having been well, that would have made me sick, Being sick, have in some measure made me well. ( 2 Henry IV , 1.1.137–139) Jonathan Bate wrote in the Lancet issue: ‘Shakespeare’s plays still live 400 years after his death because he shares with the good physician the art of minute observation of human feelings and human bodies…. again like the good physician, he never reduces a human being to a set of symptoms, labeled with a diagnosis…. He rejoices in human endurance, even as he pities the disintegration and sorrow that come with age.’ 寶健保健 Wealth In Health