Turns out the feud between the Hatfields and McCoys may have been affected by a rare genetic disorder:
Posted by binky at April 6, 2007 10:55 AM | TrackBack | Posted to West VirginiaThe most infamous feud in American folklore, the long-running battle between the Hatfields and McCoys, may be partly explained by a rare, inherited disease that can lead to hair-trigger rage and violent outbursts.
Dozens of McCoy descendants apparently have Von Hippel-Lindau disease, which causes high blood pressure, racing hearts, severe headaches and too much adrenaline and other "fight or flight" stress hormones.
No one blames the disease for the whole feud, but doctors say it could help explain some of the clan's notorious behavior.
"This condition can certainly make anybody short-tempered, and if they are prone because of their personality, it can add fuel to the fire," said Dr. Revi Mathew, a Vanderbilt University endocrinologist treating one of the family members.
The Hatfields and McCoys have a storied and deadly history dating to Civil War times. Their generations of fighting over land, timber rights and even a pig are the subject of dozens of books, songs and countless jokes. Unfortunately for Appalachia, the feud is one of its greatest sources of fame.
Several genetic experts have known about the disease plaguing some of the McCoys for decades, but kept it secret. The Associated Press learned of it after several family members revealed their history to Vanderbilt doctors, who are trying to find more McCoy relatives to warn them of the risk.
It wasn't that the docs were keeping it secret, they were busy publishing papers to help raise the awareness of the medical community, while keeping the confidentiality of individuals and families -- as they must by law.
Most people with VHL are peaceable folks, living their lives as best they can with a complex medical condition. One of the tumors that can occur in VHL is a pheochromocytoma, a tumor of the adrenal gland, that emits hormones into the body that feel like a panic attack or palpitations. Only rarely is it interpreted as rage.
Pheos occur in the general population, and can be caused by tiny flaws in any one of six genes. VHL is one of these genes. But note that VHL accounts for less than 5% of all pheos. Anyone who is feeling random occurrences of panic or palpitations, excessive sweating, or uncontrolled high blood pressure should ask the doctor to do a test called "plasma free metanephrines". This is the most accurate test for a pheo.
The good news is that once it is diagnosed it is almost always successfully treatable. Pheos are very hard to diagnose, and very dangerous. Still today in 2007 half the pheos are diagnosed on autopsy.
Please take good care of your health.
Best wishes,
Joyce Graff, Executive Director
Cancer Research Fund / VHL Family Alliance
www.vhl.org 800-767-4845
You must have some work tracking down everyone who quoted that article! I imagined that IRB had a lot to do with the original anonymizing. Thanks for the update and clarification!
Posted by: binky at April 15, 2007 07:14 PM | PERMALINK