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MS Research Hub @msresearchhub.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Diary pages: wellcomecollection.org/works/vs46mek3 and wellcomecollection.org/works/rvxavqqq 1848 letter: wellcomecollection.org/works/edj3ykmj Firth 1941: doi.org/10.1177/003591574103400703 Firth 1948: The Case of Augustus d'Esté Garrard & Peters 2012: doi.org/10.1258/shorts.2011.011079

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MS Research Hub @msresearchhub.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

The diary images are Wellcome Collection scans (CC BY 4.0) of plates in Firth's 1948 book. Other sources: Firth's 1941 article, Garrard & Peters 2012, and Wellcome's record of the 1848 letter. Links below.

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MS Research Hub @msresearchhub.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

A 2012 study put the symptoms from his diary into diagnostic software. MS came out most likely once they accounted for how common each disease is. Without that, neuromyelitis optica ranked first. Porphyria, also suggested for George III's "madness," wasn't supported.

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MS Research Hub @msresearchhub.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

A doctor diagnosed him with "Paraplegia" in 1844. Charcot didn't describe MS as a distinct disease until 1868, twenty years after d'Este died.

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MS Research Hub @msresearchhub.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Douglas Firth reproduced this page in his 1948 book on d'Este, noting its "characteristic alterations in writing." In May 1848 d'Este wrote to the Lord Chamberlain that he was too ill to go to a ball at Buckingham Palace. He died in December at 54.

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MS Research Hub @msresearchhub.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

By January 1848 he was in Ramsgate, tracking how long he could walk around his room each day. He used a printed account book with RECEIVED and PAID columns. Jan 12: "(Thanks be) One Hour & 18-1/4 minutes" Jan 15: "I grieve I grieve I only walk in my Room," 19½ min Jan 16: "I rejoice," 66¼ min

Handwritten ledger page in a printed account book headed "January 1848. Monthly Abstract. Ramsgate", with printed columns RECEIVED and PAID and a handwritten heading "My Day's Walking". Each line logs the minutes he walked in his room, January 10 to 18. Jan 12: "I walk this Day in my Room (Thanks be) One Hour & 18-1/4 minutes", 78¼. Jan 15: "I grieve I grieve I only walk in my Room", 19½. Jan 16: "I rejoice to have walked in my Room this Day 1 Hour & 6-1/4 minutes", 66¼. Weekly total: 5 hours 41½ minutes. Printed caption: "Page from diary, showing record of time spent in 'walking' and characteristic alterations in writing." Wellcome Collection, CC BY 4.0.

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MS Research Hub @msresearchhub.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

His sight came back. Over the next twenty-odd years he wrote about weak legs, numbness, trouble with his hands, dizziness and bladder problems. At first he recovered between attacks, but by his last years the weakness wasn't going away.

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MS Research Hub @msresearchhub.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

"I struggled violently not to weep, I was however unable to prevent myself from so doing:— Shortly after the funeral I was obliged to have my letters read to me, and their answers written for me, as my eyes were…" He underlined "violently not to weep."

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MS Research Hub @msresearchhub.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

He was Sir Augustus d'Este, a grandson of George III. His parents married without the king's consent, so the Royal Marriages Act made the marriage void and him illegitimate. He pursued a peerage he believed was his.

Portrait miniature in an oval frame of a boy with curly hair and folded arms, in an open-collared shirt and buttoned waistcoat. Printed caption: "A Boy. Said to be Sir Augustus Frederick d'Esté (1794–1848) by Richard Cosway: signed and dated 1799. Miniature in the Victoria and Albert Museum." Plate from Firth (1948). Wellcome Collection, CC BY 4.0.

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MS Research Hub @msresearchhub.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

A 28-year-old army officer went to the Scottish Highlands in December 1822 to visit a relative he loved like a father. When he got there, the man was already dead. Shortly after the funeral his eyes started to fail. His diary is often called the earliest first-person account of probable MS 🧵

Handwritten diary page headed "1822. The Death of Strowan.— Effect upon my Eyes.—" It reads: "In the month of December 1822 I travelled from Ramsgate to the Highlands of Scotland for the purpose of passing some days with a Relation for whom I had the affection of a Son. On my arrival I found him dead.— I attended his funeral:— there being many persons present I struggled violently not to weep, I was however unable to prevent myself from so doing:— Shortly after the funeral I was obliged to have my letters read to me, and their answers written for me, as my eyes were". The words "violently not to weep" are underlined. Plate from Firth, The Case of Augustus d'Esté (1948). Wellcome Collection, CC BY 4.0.

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MS Research Hub @msresearchhub.bsky.social · 10/02/2025

I started a substack to capture some thoughts. Please give me feedback. open.substack.com/pub/msliving...

open.substack.com

Inbox | Substack

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MS Research Hub @msresearchhub.bsky.social · 15/01/2025

📚 New study shows marriage is linked to better brain health in MS patients. Married people with MS had: Fewer brain lesions Higher brain volume Better preserved grey matter Even after controlling for factors like medication adherence, lifestyle & disease duration. Study: doi.org/10.1007/s004...

doi.org

Marriage is associated with decreased lesion volumes and less brain atrophy in people with multiple sclerosis - Journal of Neurology

Background Married or long-term partnered patients with chronic diseases generally have better outcomes than unmarried patients, likely due to the potential for multifaceted support. However, the impa...

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MS Research Hub @msresearchhub.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

Fresh Study: 3mg nightly melatonin for 12 weeks improved heart function, reduced oxidative stress, AND enhanced sleep quality in MS patients! Could be a simple but powerful addition to MS care. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39630381/ #MS #Melatonin

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MS Research Hub @msresearchhub.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

Study from Iran: 10 MS patients safely switched from anti-CD20 to lower-intensity treatments. After 18 months, no disease progression seen. Suggests de-escalation could be viable for stable patients to reduce long-term risks. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39619757/ #MS #CD20

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