Was Mary Todd Lincoln Driven ‘Mad’ by a Vitamin Deficiency?

[mountaineer]

One of the truly tragic figures of American history, in my opinion.

Was Mary Todd Lincoln Driven ‘Mad’ by a Vitamin Deficiency?
By DENISE GRADY
JULY 8, 2016
New York Times

Could pernicious anemia, a disease caused by a vitamin B12 deficiency, have explained the many strange behaviors of Mary Todd Lincoln?

She was not exactly a model first lady. Historians have had a field day describing her violent temper, wild shopping sprees (she owned 300 pairs of kid gloves), depressed moods and all-consuming fears of burglars, storms and poverty. Late in life, at her son’s urging, she was committed to a mental hospital for several months.

Plenty of theories, none proven, have been floated. She was bipolar. She had syphilis or that well known cause of feminine madness, menstrual trouble. She was spoiled and narcissistic. She never recovered from a road accident in which her head hit a rock. She lost her mind grieving the deaths of three of her four sons and her husband’s assassination.

The latest addition to the list of possible diagnoses comes from Dr. John G. Sotos, a cardiologist, technology executive at Intel and one of the medical consultants who helped dream up the mystery diseases that afflicted patients on the television show “House.”

Dr. Sotos has long been interested in difficult diagnoses, and has written a self-published book suggesting that Abraham Lincoln had a genetic syndrome that caused cancers of the thyroid and adrenal glands.  ...

Rest of article at NY Times

[SunkenCiv]

B-12 deficiency is one of the risks taken by vegan vegetarians, as there is no non-animal source of B-12.

[mystery-ak]

Reading about Mary Todd was a hobby of mine for years..just fascinated by her..this is the first time I have heard anything about a vitamin deficiency.

I firmly believe she was a victim of depression made worse by the deaths of her sons and then husband....She saw only one son reach adulthood, Robert. Robert thought she was insane and had her committed when she was just 56yo.

I always believed her to be a overlooked tragic figure.......poor woman!