Bright’s disease is a historical term that is not currently in use. It referred to a group of kidney diseases – in modern medicine, the condition is described as acute or chronic nephritis.
This article is intended to cover the historical relevance of Bright’s disease, in addition to the characteristic signs and symptoms that were used in the diagnosis and treatment of the condition.
Historical Relevance
The disease was named after Richard Bright, who was the first to describe the symptoms in 1827. He described 25 patient cases involving dropsy, which is now commonly referred to as edema, and linked them to kidney disease in his Reports of Medical Cases.
Following from this, research conducted by Bright and other physicians noted a link to cardiac hypertrophy, which led to the suggestion that stimulation of the heart was involved.
One notable case of Bright’s disease was that of Arnold Ehret. His condition was diagnosed as incurable by 24 respected doctors in Europe. However, he eventually cured himself of the disease with the design of The Mucusless Diet Healing System.
In Modern Medicine, the term Bright’s disease is no longer in use and is only referenced for historical purposes. This is because the disease is due to a vast range of renal diseases, for which there are no more descriptive terms that can be used.
Signs and Symptoms
The characteristic signs of Bright’s disease were edema and albumin in the urine, which are also a vital part of many renal conditions in Modern Medicine.
The wide range of symptoms that were often reported in patients with Bright’s disease included:
- Edema
- Albumin in the urine
- Hypertension
- Inflammation of serous membranes
- Hemorrhages
- Apoplexy
- Convulsions
- Blindness
- Coma
Additionally, significant signs of disease were noted in the kidneys at autopsy.
Naturally, the methods of diagnosis also differed due to limitations pertaining to technology and medical equipment. For example, the level of albumin in the urine was detected by spoon and candle-heat coagulation, which is unlike the urinalysis tests in practice today.
Treatment
In traditional medicine, patients with Bright’s disease were treated with a wide range of techniques such as:
- Warm baths
- Dietary changes (e.g. avoidance of alcohol, cheese and red meat)
- Herbs with diuretic properties
- Blood-letting
- Squill
- Digitalis
- Mercury
- Opium
- Laxatives
The efficacy of these treatment methods varied considerably between each case and the involved factors. This is to be expected, as the term Bright’s Disease was used to describe a broad set of conditions based on hallmark symptoms.
Today these conditions are differentiated at diagnosis to allow physicians to pinpoint the cause of the symptoms and devise an appropriate treatment plan for the case at hand.
References
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1786202/
- https://archive.org/details/treatiseonbright00mill
- https://www.britannica.com/science/Bright-disease
Further Reading
- All Bright's Disease Content
Last Updated: Feb 26, 2019
Written by
Yolanda Smith
Yolanda graduated with a Bachelor of Pharmacy at the University of South Australia and has experience working in both Australia and Italy. She is passionate about how medicine, diet and lifestyle affect our health and enjoys helping people understand this. In her spare time she loves to explore the world and learn about new cultures and languages.
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