Arthritis has plagued the earth since time immemorial. The skeleton of Lucy, the almost 3.2 million-year-old hominid, appears to have suffered from arthritis.
In different forms, arthritis has also affected many renowned people. Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, and King Louis XIV suffered from gout, a type of arthritis that is said to impart pain “when even gentle breezes blow.” Also referred to as the “disease of nobility” because it manifests in those who are too well-fed, gout is caused by inflammation due to excess uric acid in the blood. The uric acid is converted into crystalline form and deposited in the joints.
