Wow, my first Post on IMDB the disease Kenshin had was Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. It involves liver damage thats why his mate killed a tiger and brought its liver(dont think that really helps).
Tuberculosis is the disease I believe he had. If you look up liver tuberculosis you will find that the disease also affects the liver and not just the lungs and brain. Also, the effects of tuberculosis on the skin are much more in line of what Kenshin's skin looked like.
Does SLE involve brain damage? Kenshin had obvious brain damage at the end of the OAV. Syphalis causes rashes on the skin, but in later stages it causes damage to the internal organs and destroys the brain.
Watch directors cut with comentary the guy who plays sano is the only one who made a rational thought. It can not be lupus i went to the lupus awarness website when i saw this like 5 months ago but did not feel like making an acount. any lupus is not contagious. so its not lupus. I knew it was leporsy the first time i saw it because symtoms and it being contagious make more sense.
some people are posting that it's syphillis, that's why kauru caught it so easily. I dunno...he had rashes or something and he lost his memory so maybe it relates.
i would think that leprosy can affect the mind, but i do not know for sure. it causes the breakdown of tissue, and the brain is made up of tissue... i guess that if you were able to survive it for long enough that it would eventually cause organ failure.
or it could have been brain damage caused by almost drowning.
I would support the syphilis theory. Syphilis is transmitted through contact with bodily fluids such as blood, saliva, etc. In Seisouhen, after Kenshin passed on the Sakabatou, he wandered the country, helping those who were sick and dying. Chances are he contracted the disease that way. This would also explain how it was passed to Kaoru when he slept with her. Syphilis also eats away at one's mental faculties, explaining why Kenshin barely remembered Sano when he found him in China.
As for the sores, I'm not certain. I believe syphilis can leave marks on the skin as well.
I just got around to watching it and i'm gonna pull towards Syphilis. Besides being easily transmitted and causing a wide verity of long term damage, Syphilis was fairly common (and easy) disease to contract in that time period.
SLE and Leprosy may have similar effects, but aren't transfered in conventional ways and take effect rather quickly
USED TO BE COMRADE RD, Thumb up Arss All your oil are belong to U.S.