The Dresden Files > DF Spoilers

Magical Resilience to Medical Malady

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Mr. Death:
I don't know about the regular healing factor, but the rpg book cites this as one of the reasons wizardry healing via spells is rare and works slow. You need to know what you're doing or else that "accelerate cell growth you close a cut" spell turns into a "cells grow out of control and becomes a tumor" spell

Dashkull:
There was a question relating to this at one of the recent signings (I forget which). It was asked about mental illnesses like Alzheimer’s or depression. The response is that wizards are still human. Something like Alzheimer’s is a real threat (to a lot of people’s well being should a powerful wizard get it) and Jim said it is something they are constantly watching for signs of in each other at council meetings.

Think what Professor X did in Logan. I don’t remember what the movie specifically says happened but iirc it’s hinted that he had a seizure and killed a significant portion of the x men, as well as the population of the East Coast.

Fcrate:

--- Quote from: I was a Teenage Bigfoot ---As the cloud of dust settled gently over the sleeping boy, the colors began to swirl as the spell interacted with his aura, the energy of life that surrounds all living things. Irwins's aura was bloody strong, standing out several inches farther from his body than on most humans. I was a full-blown wizard and a strong one, and my aura wasn't any more powerful. [truncated]
Irwin had begun to develop a reservoir of energy to rival that of anyone on the White Council of Wizardry.
That was likely the explanation of Irwin's supposed immunity to disease: The aura of life around him was simple too strong to be overwhelmed by a mundane germ or virus. Supported by that kind of energy, his body's immune system would simply whale on any invaders.

--- End quote ---
The fact that cells make near perfect copies likely would stop, or at least slow to a dramatic degree, the onset of Alzheimer's. I don't know about Dementia.
As for other diseases, the text above answers that, the life aura around a full-blown wizard would make him or her immune to any "mundange" germ. I suppose mundane here means "Not magically induced". And the stronger a wizard (Thus their aura), the more immune to disease they are. However, just like what happened to Irwin, if a germ does invade the body and take hold while the aura is weak, the body will have a tough time getting rid of it on its own.

Talby16:

--- Quote from: Fcrate on June 16, 2018, 11:27:34 AM ---The fact that cells make near perfect copies likely would stop, or at least slow to a dramatic degree, the onset of Alzheimer's. I don't know about Dementia.
As for other diseases, the text above answers that, the life aura around a full-blown wizard would make him or her immune to any "mundange" germ. I suppose mundane here means "Not magically induced". And the stronger a wizard (Thus their aura), the more immune to disease they are. However, just like what happened to Irwin, if a germ does invade the body and take hold while the aura is weak, the body will have a tough time getting rid of it on its own.

--- End quote ---

Thanks for pulling in that quote from the Bigfoot stories. I had forgot about them. If the body is used to having/using a strong aura to bolster the immune system and then that mechanism is reduced/hampered, the body will certainly struggle with mundane infections (mono in that particular case). The body becomes used to doing things a certain way and is not great at switching tracks quickly when the usual way fails.

Bacchus:
From a more medical perspective Dresden's healing and longevity is based on more perfect DNA and cell replication,

without better DNA replication he would start having all the problems vanillas do once they get past age 65 or so. Having a body that can still correctly clone cells after 350 years would have to rule out a large chunk of all age related diseases for it to make sense.
 I mean all types of cancers at the most basic level is cells copying wrong. its not like theres some external thing attacking the body.


 heart and lung disease are the 2 leading killers and those  usually kill people from wear and age related damage done over at least 40 years, his complete heal times have always been predicted as much shorter than that so heart and lung disease as it kills vanilla mortals wouldnt matter
 dementia and alzehimers can be dumbed down to brain cells not copying right.  elderly people have something like 7-9% less brainmass than when they were young which help cause these.

EDIT
 can someone with more medical training then me think this through.
my thoughts from half forgotten paramedic training is that almost every disease that you cant really get before age 50 wouldnt apply To wizards.
any diseases based on bacteria, viruses, fungus genetic defects would effect them the same as a healthy young person
 well until this mechanism for DNA replication seems to fail around 300-400 years old at least

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