Acute diarrhea historical perspective

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1];Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Ajay Gade MD[2]]

The word “diarrhea” was coined by Hippocrates. Diarrhea is derived from the Greek term “to flow through”. Diarrhea is a common manifestation of gastrointestinal disease.

The historical perspective of the acute diarrhea is as follows:^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]}

• The word “diarrhea” was coined by Hippocrates.
• Diarrhea is derived from the Greek term “to flow through.” Diarrhea is a common manifestation of gastrointestinal disease.
• In 1898, Kioshi Shiga provided the first description of Shigella dysenteriae type 1, the bacteria responsible for bacterial dysentery.
• In 1903, Conradi reported that extracts of Shiga’s bacillus are found in paralyzed and killed rabbits.
• Similar findings were published independently by Neisser and Shiga.
• The research in the next 70 years showed the following:
  • The endotoxic activity associated with Shiga’s bacillus from the activity of the protein Stx
  • The partial purification of Stx
  • The discovery that high iron concentrations inhibit Stx synthesis
  • The seminal observation by Bridgwater et al. and Howard that Stx appears to target vascular endothelium in the brain
  • The discovery by Vicari et al. that Stx is lethal for certain epithelial cells in culture

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