‘Functional hyperthermia’: a historical overview

Table 1 Clinical features of patients with ‘habitual hyperthermia’ or ‘neurosis’ based on Reimann’s work

Case	Year	Name	Age, y	Duration of complaints, y	Bed rest, m	Fastigium, F°	Basic work-up^a	Holló and Holló-Weil test^b	Psychiatric evaluation	Actual perspective
Habitual Hyperthermia
1	1933^c	Miss B. E	26	21	NA	100.8	Yes	Positive	No	Long-term complication of measles
2	1936	Mrs M. Z	NA	4	NA	99.6	Yes	NA	No	Abdominal surgical complications
3	1936	Mrs M. A	28	4	NA	99.6	Yes	NA	No	Gynaecologic infection
4	1936	Miss J. V	17	2	NA	100	Yes	Positive	No	Chronic sinusitis
5	1936	Miss P. J	26	NA	NA	100.6	Yes	NA	No	Renal abscess
Neurosis^d
6	1932	Miss R. L	38	2	15	100.4	Yes	Positive	No	Munchausen's syndrome
7	1933	Miss K. U	35	6	5	99.5	Yes	Positive	No	Cerebellitis^e
8	1934	Miss E. R	47	14	NA	100	Yes	Positive	No	Parasitic disease
9	1933	Miss R. R	22	2	NA	103.5	Yes	Negative	No	ARF recurrence
10	1935	Miss K. M	30	11	8	100	Yes	Positive	Yes	Virilising tumour
11	1935	Miss E. E	23	5	NA	100	NA	NA	No	PMDD
12	1935	Miss E. McG	15	5	NA	100.4	NA	NA	Yes^f	ENT surgical complications

Abbreviations: ARF acute rheumatic fever, ENT ear, nose, throat, NA not available, PMDD premenstrual dysphoric disorder
Notes: ^a Basic workup ‘included registration of several temperature readings daily for at least a month at repeated intervals, morphologic and numerical studies of blood cells, determination of the blood sedimentation rate, Wassermann reaction and various agglutinins, intradermal tests for tuberculosis and brucellosis, basal metabolic rate, constancy of body weight, and any special procedures as dictated by the individual case.' ([...] p. 1090). ^b According to Holló and Holló-Weil, in HH, the temperature is depressed by certain narcotics (powdered opium) but not influenced by antipyretics (aminopyrine, a drug withdrawn from the U.S. market in 1970 due to the risk of agranulocytosis) [20]. ^c Date of the second admission to the university hospital. ^d Reimann uses the term neurosis to refer to personality disorders, but he does not quote any mainstream psychiatrist. ^e The downbeat nystagmus suggests a central nervous system lesion. ^f The psychiatrist mentioned a ‘functional neurosis.’ ([19] p. 1092)

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