Carriers
The Fugates, a family that lived in the hills of Kentucky, are the most famous example of this hereditary genetic condition. They are known as the "Blue Fugates." Martin Fugate settled near Hazard, Kentucky, circa 1800. His wife was a carrier of the recessive methemoglobinemia (met-H) gene, as was a nearby clan with whom the Fugates intermarried. As a result, many descendants of the Fugates were born with met-H.
The "blue men of Lurgan" were a pair of Lurgan men suffering from what was described as "familial idiopathic methaemoglobinaemia" who were treated by Dr. James Deeny in 1942. Deeny, who would later become the Chief Medical Officer of the Republic of Ireland, prescribed a course of ascorbic acid and sodium bicarbonate. In case one, by the eighth day of treatment there was a marked change in appearance and by the twelfth day of treatment the patient's complexion was normal. In case two, the patient's complexion reached normality over a month-long duration of treatment.
Read more about this topic: Methemoglobinemia
Famous quotes containing the word carriers:
“Now, the wry Rosenbloom is dead
And his finical carriers tread,
On a hundred legs, the tread
Of the dead.
Rosenbloom is dead.”
—Wallace Stevens (1879–1955)
“Nature, doubtless, has some compelling cause
To glut the carriers of her epidemics—
Nor did the peach complain.”
—Robert Graves (1895–1985)