Contursi Terme
Encyclopedia
Contursi Terme is a village and comune
in the province of Salerno
in the Campania
region of south-western Italy
.
(ancient Tanager) with the Sele
, is likely. The Roman Ursentum noted in Pliny's Natural History (III.2), is more usually identified with Caggiano
. The local historian A. Filomarino, based on etymologies of toponyms, placed the commune's origins as early as the fourth century AD, the result of efforts by the inhabitants of the former Saginara and Contursi to fortify a site that was destroyed by Alaric's Goths at the end of the fourth century. Under the Lombards
it appears to have belonged to the gastaldate of Conza, when a fortress was built in 840 by Orso, count of Conza, from whom the stronghold probably took its name Castrum comitis Ursi, the "castle of count Orso") Orso took the part of his kinsman Siconulf of Salerno
(839-51) in internecine wars with Radelchis I of Benevento
, who had been a former gastaldo of Conza.
The later history of Contursi Termi formed a local part of the Principality of Salerno
, which was retained as a title until the territory was divided in three by Charles II of Naples
in 1287, Contursi passing to the prince of Citerione (or Citra) and held by the family Sanseverino. In 1348, Contursi was taken by Louis of Taranto
, king of Naples by right of his wife Joanna; he passed the title to his adherents, the Origlia. In 1448 Antonio Sanseverino succeeded in reclaiming title to Contursi, but the Sanseverino heirs held it only until the early sixteenth century, under the Viceroys of Naples. From the seventeenth century the commune passed successively through a number of families, the Bernalli, Pepe, Ludovisi and Parisani Bonanno. The last to hold the contado before the reunification of Italy were the Pisani di Tolentino, marchesi di Caggiano.
. In 1986, Larry Golbe, a doctor based at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, came across a family with six Parkinson's patients, and found that they had originated in Contursi. A few months later he found a second family with several Parkinson's patients, who also had ancestors from the village. This prompted Golbe to collaborate with Giuseppe DiIorio at the University of Naples, to analyse the DNA from Contursani and people who had emigrated from the village across the world. They identified three families in Italy and three families in the US, all of whom were descendants from a single couple who lived in Contursi in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Of 400 members of this extended family, known as the "Contursi kindred", 61 are known to have had Parkinson's. This showed for the first time that Parkinson's could be inherited.
Geneticists Alice Lazzarini and William Johnson worked through the early 1990s trying to isolate the mutation that caused the disease. They tracked it down to chromosome 4q21-q23 in 1996, and the following year identified the mutation in the alpha-synuclein
gene. Within days, other researchers found α-synuclein in the Lewy bodies, the blobs of protein found in the brains of Parkinson's patients. This suggested that the protein is involved in the normal course of Parkinson's, even when the patient has not inherited a mutated α-synuclein gene. It has also allowed fresh approaches to the study of Parkinson's, such as animal models with mutated α-synuclein genes.
Golbe continues to work with the Contursi kindred to uncover more details of the mechanism of Parkinson's. He has already discovered that variations in the gene for glutathione-S-transferase can affect the age at which the disease starts. GST appears to detoxify one or more agents that play a part in neuron loss.
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
in the province of Salerno
Province of Salerno
The Province of Salerno is a province in the Campania region of Italy.-Geography:The largest towns in the province are: Salerno, the capital, which has a population of 139,579; Cava de' Tirreni with a population of 53,488; Battipaglia with a population of 51,115; and Nocera Inferiore which has a...
in the Campania
Campania
Campania is a region in southern Italy. The region has a population of around 5.8 million people, making it the second-most-populous region of Italy; its total area of 13,590 km² makes it the most densely populated region in the country...
region of south-western Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
Early history
No secure identification of Contursi Terme, where ancient remains confirm a settlement at the confluence of the TanagroTanagro
The Tanagro or Negro is a river in southwestern Italy. It rises in the Vallo di Diano and is a tributary of the Sele River. In ancient times it was known as Tanager....
(ancient Tanager) with the Sele
Sele
Sele may refer to:In places:*Sele, Norway, two villages with this name in Øygarden, Norway*Sele, West Sussex, an English hamlet*Sele Priory, a Benedictine monastery in modern day Upper Beeding, West Sussex...
, is likely. The Roman Ursentum noted in Pliny's Natural History (III.2), is more usually identified with Caggiano
Caggiano
Caggiano is a town and comune in the province of Salerno in the Campania region of south-western Italy....
. The local historian A. Filomarino, based on etymologies of toponyms, placed the commune's origins as early as the fourth century AD, the result of efforts by the inhabitants of the former Saginara and Contursi to fortify a site that was destroyed by Alaric's Goths at the end of the fourth century. Under the Lombards
Lombards
The Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...
it appears to have belonged to the gastaldate of Conza, when a fortress was built in 840 by Orso, count of Conza, from whom the stronghold probably took its name Castrum comitis Ursi, the "castle of count Orso") Orso took the part of his kinsman Siconulf of Salerno
Siconulf of Salerno
Siconulf was the first prince of Salerno, the brother of Sicard, prince of Benevento , who was assassinated by Radelchis. In response to Sicard's murder, the people of Salerno proclaimed Siconulf prince in opposition to Radelchis. At the time Radelchis was holding Siconulf prisoner in Taranto...
(839-51) in internecine wars with Radelchis I of Benevento
Radelchis I of Benevento
Radelchis I was the treasurer, then prince of Benevento from 839, when he assumed the throne upon the assassination of Sicard and imprisonment of Sicard's brother, Siconulf, to his death, though in his time the principality was divided.According to the Chronica S...
, who had been a former gastaldo of Conza.
The later history of Contursi Termi formed a local part of the Principality of Salerno
Principality of Salerno
The Lombard Principality of Salerno was a South Italian state, centered on the port city of Salerno, formed in 851 out of the Principality of Benevento after a decade-long civil war....
, which was retained as a title until the territory was divided in three by Charles II of Naples
Charles II of Naples
Charles II, known as "the Lame" was King of Naples, King of Albania, Prince of Salerno, Prince of Achaea and Count of Anjou.-Biography:...
in 1287, Contursi passing to the prince of Citerione (or Citra) and held by the family Sanseverino. In 1348, Contursi was taken by Louis of Taranto
Louis of Taranto
Louis I of Naples , of the House of Anjou, was the Prince of Taranto from 1346 and King of Naples from 1352. He was a son of Philip I of Taranto and Catherine II of Valois, Princess of Achaea. His paternal grandparents were Charles II of Naples and Maria of Hungary...
, king of Naples by right of his wife Joanna; he passed the title to his adherents, the Origlia. In 1448 Antonio Sanseverino succeeded in reclaiming title to Contursi, but the Sanseverino heirs held it only until the early sixteenth century, under the Viceroys of Naples. From the seventeenth century the commune passed successively through a number of families, the Bernalli, Pepe, Ludovisi and Parisani Bonanno. The last to hold the contado before the reunification of Italy were the Pisani di Tolentino, marchesi di Caggiano.
The thermal springs
The thermal baths, insecurely linked to notices by Roman writers, were described in a manuscript Balnea Contursi of 1231; The fifteen thermal springs, with varying mineral content, have retained their curative reputation, for bathing, both in warm pools and in a cold plunge, and for drinking.Parkinson's disease
Families from the village have played an important role in the understanding of Parkinson's diseaseParkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...
. In 1986, Larry Golbe, a doctor based at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, came across a family with six Parkinson's patients, and found that they had originated in Contursi. A few months later he found a second family with several Parkinson's patients, who also had ancestors from the village. This prompted Golbe to collaborate with Giuseppe DiIorio at the University of Naples, to analyse the DNA from Contursani and people who had emigrated from the village across the world. They identified three families in Italy and three families in the US, all of whom were descendants from a single couple who lived in Contursi in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Of 400 members of this extended family, known as the "Contursi kindred", 61 are known to have had Parkinson's. This showed for the first time that Parkinson's could be inherited.
Geneticists Alice Lazzarini and William Johnson worked through the early 1990s trying to isolate the mutation that caused the disease. They tracked it down to chromosome 4q21-q23 in 1996, and the following year identified the mutation in the alpha-synuclein
Alpha-synuclein
Alpha-synuclein is a protein that, in humans, is encoded by the SNCA gene. An alpha-synuclein fragment, known as the non-Abeta component of Alzheimer's disease amyloid, originally found in an amyloid-enriched fraction, is shown to be a fragment of its precursor protein, NACP, by cloning of the...
gene. Within days, other researchers found α-synuclein in the Lewy bodies, the blobs of protein found in the brains of Parkinson's patients. This suggested that the protein is involved in the normal course of Parkinson's, even when the patient has not inherited a mutated α-synuclein gene. It has also allowed fresh approaches to the study of Parkinson's, such as animal models with mutated α-synuclein genes.
Golbe continues to work with the Contursi kindred to uncover more details of the mechanism of Parkinson's. He has already discovered that variations in the gene for glutathione-S-transferase can affect the age at which the disease starts. GST appears to detoxify one or more agents that play a part in neuron loss.