Disease
May Have Caused Lincoln's Gait
(Associated
Press, Jan 27 2006) Abraham
Lincoln's appearance and historical documents that note his especially clumsy
gait have long caused researchers to puzzle over whether he may have had a
genetic disorder called Marfan syndrome. Now, members of
the beloved president's family tree are wondering if Lincoln had a different,
incurable hereditary disease called ataxia
that affects the coordination it takes to walk, write, speak and swallow. Researchers at
the University of Minnesota have discovered a gene mutation in 11 generations
of relatives who descended from Lincoln's grandparents, and they say there's a
25 percent chance that Lincoln also inherited the gene, said Laura Ranum, a
genetics professor who led the research. "Because
the historical literature talks about his clumsy gait ... it raises the
possibility that that was caused by a mutation in this gene," Ranum said. But since
Lincoln has no living direct descendants, confirming whether the nation's 16th
president had the defective gene would require that his DNA be taken from historical
artifacts and tested — an issue that has been debated over the years. "What
historical purpose would it serve? It (wouldn't) change the facts of how he
became a great president," said Kim Bauer, Lincoln curator at the Abraham
Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Ill. "I would fall
on the side of leaving President Lincoln alone." The new
findings on the ataxia gene were reported this week in the online edition of
the journal Nature Genetics. Since 1992, the Minnesota researchers have studied
more than 300 members of the Lincoln family. About one-third of them have
ataxia. Terry Smith and
Laurie Crary — both ataxia sufferers and descendants of Abraham Lincoln's uncle
Josiah Lincoln — said they would like to know if the president had their
disease. "If a
president had it, and he was disabled but still running the country, maybe
people would lighten up on disabled people a little bit," said Smith, 57,
of Manteca, Calif., who said he was once arrested for drunken driving because
of the disease's symptoms. Crary, 50, of
Prescott, Ariz., said she has vertigo and had to have reconstructive surgery on
her shoulder after losing her coordination and falling. If Lincoln had ataxia,
that could offer hope for others suffering from it. About 150,000 Americans
have the degenerative disease. "Look what
he achieved, even if he had this defective gene," Crary said. In the 1990s, a
geneticist asked the National Museum of Health and Medicine to test Lincoln's
hair and bones to find out if the president had Marfan syndrome, a disorder
that affects connective tissue, blood vessels and eyes, and can produce fatal
abnormalities of major arteries. Marfan's sufferers often have unusual height
and elongated fingers, toes and limbs — all characteristics of Lincoln. But multiple
panels decided "the greater public good is served by not destroying this
non-renewable national historic treasure," according to the museum's Web
site. Bauer, the
Lincoln museum curator, said that when Lincoln's tomb was renovated about 100 years
ago, his last living son made it clear he did not want his father's remains
disturbed. That should be
an overriding factor, Bauer said. "His last
living descendant, still alive, saying, 'Don't bother my father anymore.' ...
If DNA testing was alive in the early 1900s, I think he would say the same
thing," he said. Ranum said
researchers would need a small amount of Lincoln's DNA to test for the gene,
which causes spinocerebellar ataxia type 5, or SCA5. The DNA could be found on
a bloodstained garment or a hair sample. For now, Ranum
said the new discovery should lead to better diagnosis and possible future
treatments and may help people decide whether to have children. The mutated
gene is dominant, so there is a 50 percent chance a parent will pass it on. Still, she said
finding out whether Lincoln had the gene could help destigmatize the disease. "Every
aspect of Lincoln's life has been gone over with a fine-tooth comb," she
said. "I think it is of historical interest."