Depression and Melancholy, meet Inflammation

Here is a nice blog article by a rheumatologist at UCLA, Dr. Mark Borigini entitled "Inflammation and Chronic Pain: Influencing Culture". Did you know painter Paul Rubens probably had rheumatoid arthritis?

"A close analysis of Rubens's paintings over the last thirty years of his life reveals the deformities of arthritis depicted in various subjects, chronologically documenting the natural progression of the disease. Look at the painting, "The Holy Family with St. Anne": The left arm of St. Anne, resting on Mary's shoulder, is a classic depiction of a typical swollen wrist seen in an inflammatory arthritis such as rheumatoid arthritis."

Michelangelo, Paul Klee, Frida Khalo and Renoir all likely had autoimmune disorders, too, according to Borigini. Inflammation in the body can cause crippling pain, leading to depression, or as Freud termed it, melancholy.