This Day in History November 8, 1994 The Republican Revolution Began

various | Nov. 7, 2005 | various

[WillamShakespeare]

Actually someone told me Lincoln had some disease that prevented fat from depositing on his face, Addisons disease I think it was. If you`ll read the definition of it, one of the syptoms is darkening of the skin...If you look at that picture, you can see a dark patch on his cheek.

"Addison's disease is a rare endocrine, or hormonal disorder that affects about 1 in 100,000 people. It occurs in all age groups and afflicts men and women equally. The disease is characterized by weight loss, muscle weakness, fatigue, low blood pressure, and sometimes darkening of the skin in both exposed and nonexposed parts of the body.

Addison's disease occurs when the adrenal glands do not produce enough of the hormone cortisol and in some cases, the hormone aldosterone. For this reason, the disease is sometimes called chronic adrenal insufficiency, or hypocortisolism.

Cortisol is normally produced by the adrenal glands, located just above the kidneys. It belongs to a class of hormones called glucocorticoids, which affect almost every organ and tissue in the body. Scientists think that cortisol has possibly hundreds of effects in the body. Cortisol's most important job is to help the body respond to stress. Among its other vital tasks, cortisol: "