Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland.
University of Parma, Parma, Italy.
Neurol Sci. 2018 May;39(5):939-940. doi: 10.1007/s10072-018-3285-6. Epub 2018 Feb 22.
St. Catherine of Siena suffered from an extreme form of holy fasting, a condition classified as anorexia mirabilis (also known as inedia prodigiosa). Historical and medical scholarships alike have drawn a comparison between this primaeval type of anorexia with a relatively common form of eating disorder among young women in the modern world, anorexia nervosa. St. Catherine's condition was characterised by a disgust for sweet taste, a condition also described in anorexia nervosa, and characterised by specific neurophysiological changes in the brain. St. Catherine's case may be considered one of the oldest veritable descriptions of altered gustation (dysgeusia). Moreover, a more compelling neurophysiological similarity between anorexia mirabilis and anorexia nervosa may be proposed.
圣凯瑟琳·德·西耶纳患有一种极端的禁食症，这种病症被归类为奇妙的厌食症（也称为奇迹绝食）。历史和医学奖学金都将这种原始的厌食症与现代世界年轻女性中相对常见的饮食失调症——神经性厌食症进行了比较。圣凯瑟琳的病情表现为对甜味的厌恶，这也是神经性厌食症的症状之一，并且其大脑也表现出特定的神经生理学变化。圣凯瑟琳的病例可以被认为是对味觉改变（味觉障碍）的最早的真实描述之一。此外，还可以提出奇妙的厌食症和神经性厌食症之间更具说服力的神经生理学相似性。
