Carlos II of Spain, ‘The Bewitched’: cursed by aspartylglucosaminuria?

Carlos II of Spain (1661–1700), last of the Spanish Habsburgs, was known as The ‘Bewitched’ due to his multiple medical issues and feeble nature. He suffered from a range of ailments extending beyond the well-known Habsburg jaw, including developmental delay, intellectual disability, dysarthria, ske...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Andrew Martin, Victor S C Fung, Robert Heard
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMJ Publishing Group 2021-09-01
Series:BMJ Neurology Open
Online Access:https://neurologyopen.bmj.com/content/3/2/e000072.full
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850204246254813184
author Andrew Martin
Victor S C Fung
Robert Heard
author_facet Andrew Martin
Victor S C Fung
Robert Heard
author_sort Andrew Martin
collection DOAJ
description Carlos II of Spain (1661–1700), last of the Spanish Habsburgs, was known as The ‘Bewitched’ due to his multiple medical issues and feeble nature. He suffered from a range of ailments extending beyond the well-known Habsburg jaw, including developmental delay, intellectual disability, dysarthria, skeletal deformity, recurrent infections, epilepsy and infertility, among others. The Habsburg dynasty of Spain was characterised by marked inbreeding, and the male line died out with Carlos II. Various diagnoses have been proffered to explain Carlos II’s infirmity, though none have been full satisfactory to explain the full breadth of his ailments. As illustrated here, it may be that aspartylglucosaminuria, an autosomal recessively inherited lysosomal storage disorder, can account for both the characteristic facial features and the wide variety of other features exhibited by Carlos II.
format Article
id doaj-art-8c4eb22ea5bf41ce9aabe3f2c4e792f8
institution OA Journals
issn 2632-6140
language English
publishDate 2021-09-01
publisher BMJ Publishing Group
record_format Article
series BMJ Neurology Open
spelling doaj-art-8c4eb22ea5bf41ce9aabe3f2c4e792f82025-08-20T02:11:19ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Neurology Open2632-61402021-09-013210.1136/bmjno-2020-000072Carlos II of Spain, ‘The Bewitched’: cursed by aspartylglucosaminuria?Andrew Martin0Victor S C Fung1Robert Heard2Physician Assistant Program, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USAMovement Disorders Unit, Department of Neurology, Westmead Hospital, Westmead, New South Wales, AustraliaDepartment of Neurology, Gosford Hospital, Gosford, New South Wales, AustraliaCarlos II of Spain (1661–1700), last of the Spanish Habsburgs, was known as The ‘Bewitched’ due to his multiple medical issues and feeble nature. He suffered from a range of ailments extending beyond the well-known Habsburg jaw, including developmental delay, intellectual disability, dysarthria, skeletal deformity, recurrent infections, epilepsy and infertility, among others. The Habsburg dynasty of Spain was characterised by marked inbreeding, and the male line died out with Carlos II. Various diagnoses have been proffered to explain Carlos II’s infirmity, though none have been full satisfactory to explain the full breadth of his ailments. As illustrated here, it may be that aspartylglucosaminuria, an autosomal recessively inherited lysosomal storage disorder, can account for both the characteristic facial features and the wide variety of other features exhibited by Carlos II.https://neurologyopen.bmj.com/content/3/2/e000072.full
spellingShingle Andrew Martin
Victor S C Fung
Robert Heard
Carlos II of Spain, ‘The Bewitched’: cursed by aspartylglucosaminuria?
BMJ Neurology Open
title Carlos II of Spain, ‘The Bewitched’: cursed by aspartylglucosaminuria?
title_full Carlos II of Spain, ‘The Bewitched’: cursed by aspartylglucosaminuria?
title_fullStr Carlos II of Spain, ‘The Bewitched’: cursed by aspartylglucosaminuria?
title_full_unstemmed Carlos II of Spain, ‘The Bewitched’: cursed by aspartylglucosaminuria?
title_short Carlos II of Spain, ‘The Bewitched’: cursed by aspartylglucosaminuria?
title_sort carlos ii of spain the bewitched cursed by aspartylglucosaminuria
url https://neurologyopen.bmj.com/content/3/2/e000072.full
work_keys_str_mv AT andrewmartin carlosiiofspainthebewitchedcursedbyaspartylglucosaminuria
AT victorscfung carlosiiofspainthebewitchedcursedbyaspartylglucosaminuria
AT robertheard carlosiiofspainthebewitchedcursedbyaspartylglucosaminuria