Charles V’s Pinkie Shows He Suffered Gout
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
Tests of a 450-year-old pinkie finger confirm that Holy Roman Emperor Charles V was debilitated by gout and the painful joints it produces, Spanish researchers reported Wednesday.
Jaume Ordi of the University of Barcelona and colleagues examined the finger, preserved in a red velvet box, and found telltale signs of gout, including the buildup of uric acid crystals.
Charles V ruled from 1516 to 1556, controlling lands in Europe, Africa and Asia.
“Despite this power, Charles V had to live within the limitations of very intense arthritic pain,” the researchers wrote in the New England Journal of Medicine.
