Download PDF
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Arq Neuropsiquiatr 2020; 78(04): 238-240
DOI: 10.1590/0004-282X20190162
HISTORICAL NOTE

Ondine’s curse: the origin of the myth

La maldición de Ondina: el origen del mito
Eduardo Orrego-González 
Universidad del Rosario, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Neuroscience Research Group NEUROS, Bogotá, Colombia.
,
Germán José Medina-Rincón 
Universidad del Rosario, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Neuroscience Research Group NEUROS, Bogotá, Colombia.
,
Sofía Martínez-Gil 
Universidad del Rosario, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Neuroscience Research Group NEUROS, Bogotá, Colombia.
,
Juan Sebastián Botero-Meneses 
Universidad del Rosario, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Neuroscience Research Group NEUROS, Bogotá, Colombia.
› Author Affiliations
› Further Information
Also available at
  Permissions and Reprints

ABSTRACT

Central alveolar hypoventilation syndrome has been known for decades as Ondine’s curse. It was named as such after a German myth. Although most of the stories resemble one another, word of mouth has led to misinterpretation of this tale among the medical community. The present paper reviews the original narrative, its characters, and how it is linked to the most relevant aspects of the disease.

RESUMEN

El síndrome de hipoventilación alveolar central (por sus siglas en inglés) se conoce desde hace décadas como la maldición de Ondine. Fue nombrado como tal por un antiguo mito alemán. Aunque la mayoría de las historias se parecen, la tradición oral ha llevado a una mala interpretación de esta historia entre la comunidad médica. El presente artículo revisa la narrativa original, sus personajes y su relación con los aspectos más relevantes de la enfermedad.

Keywords:

Sleep apnea, central - pulmonary medicine - literature - mythology

Palabras-clave:

apneia do sono tipo central - pneumologia - literatura - mitologia


Publication History

Received: 04 June 2019

Accepted: 16 June 2019

Article published online:
13 June 2023

© 2020. Academia Brasileira de Neurologia. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commecial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Thieme Revinter Publicações Ltda.
Rua do Matoso 170, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, CEP 20270-135, Brazil

 

  • References

  • 1 Friedrich Heinrich Karl de la Motte, Baron Fouqué. Encyclopedia Britannica. [cited 2019 Mar 20]. Available from: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Friedrich-Heinrich-Karl-de-la-Motte-Baron-Fouque
  • 2 Nannapaneni R, Behari S, Todd NV, Mendelow AD. Retracing “Ondine’s curse”. Neurosurgery. 2005 Aug;57(2):354-63. https://doi-org.accesdistant.sorbonne-universite.fr/10.1227/01.NEU.0000166684.69422.49
  • 3 Rolak LA. Who was Ondine and what was his curse? J Child Neurol. 1996 Nov;11(6):461. https://doi-org.accesdistant.sorbonne-universite.fr/10.1177/088307389601100609
  • 4 Motte-Fouque FH. Undine a tale by Friederich Baron de la Motte-Fouque. London: Lawrence and Bullan; 1896.
  • 5 Giradoux J. Ondine: Pièce en trois actes. Paris: Bernard Grasset; 1939.
  • 6 Cielo C, Marcus CL. Central hypoventilation syndromes. Sleep Med Clin. 2014 Mar;9(1):105-18. https://doi-org.accesdistant.sorbonne-universite.fr/10.1016/j.jsmc.2013.10.005
  • 7 Pedroso JL, Baiense RF, Scalzaretto AP, Braga Neto P, Gois AFT, Ferraz ME. Ondine’s curse after brainstem infarction. Neurol India. 2009 Apr;57(2):206-7. https://doi-org.accesdistant.sorbonne-universite.fr/10.4103/0028-3886.51298
  • 8 Weese-Mayer DE, Berry-Kravis EM, Zhou L, Maher BS, Silvestri JM, Curran ME, et al. Idiopathic congenital central hypoventilation syndrome: analysis of genes pertinent to early autonomic nervous system embryologic development and identification of mutations in PHOX2b. Am J Med Genet A. 2003 Dec;123A(3):267-78. https://doi-org.accesdistant.sorbonne-universite.fr/10.1002/ajmg.a.20527
  • 9 Ondine’s curse. JAMA. 1965 Sep;193(12):1048-9.
  • 10 Kuhn M, Lütolf M, Reinhart WH. The eye catcher. Ondine’s curse. Respiration. 1999;66(3):265. https://doi-org.accesdistant.sorbonne-universite.fr/10.1159/000029388
  • 11 Maloney MA, Kun SS, Keens TG, Perez IA. Congenital central hypoventilation syndrome: diagnosis and management. Expert Rev Respir Med. 2018 Apr;12(4):283-92. https://doi-org.accesdistant.sorbonne-universite.fr/10.1080/17476348.2018.1445970
  • 12 Fine-Goulden MR, Manna S, Durward A. Cor pulmonale due to congenital central hypoventilation syndrome presenting in adolescence. Pediatr Crit Care Med. 2009 Jul;10(4):e41-2. https://doi-org.accesdistant.sorbonne-universite.fr/10.1097/PCC.0b013e318198b219
  • 13 Kasi AS, Perez IA, Kun SS, Keens TG. Congenital central hypoventilation syndrome: diagnostic and management challenges. Pediatric Health Med Ther. 2016 Aug;7:99-107. https://doi-org.accesdistant.sorbonne-universite.fr/10.2147/PHMT.S95054