Howard Hughes and Renal Disease

[stauffenberg]

The death certificate of the eccentric billionaire states that he died of renal failure, and his attending physician has stated that in the last days of Hughes' life his staff members were trying to obtain equipment to perform home hemodialysis for their reclusive patient.

However, I wonder if this history of renal disease might help explain some of Hughes' 'eccentricities'?  He was known to be an extreme germophobe and to insist that everyone who touched him washed his hands first.  He was also reported to have kept a room in his home with many jars full of his own urine.  Putting these two things together with his death from renal failure, I wonder if his germophobia was in fact the result of his being immunosuppressed because of a kidney transplant, and the many urine jars around his house were the result of obsessive testing to check for proteinuria?  His death from renal failure could then be interpreted as the eventual failure of his transplant, not as a new case of renal disease. Especially since immunosuppression was fairly primitive during Hughes' lifetime, that would make his germophobia all the more rational.

[flip]

Hughes had OCD from an early age and a severe addiction (mostly codeine and diazepam). Many think the heavy drug use resulted in the kidney damage

[paris]

We were staying at the Princess Hotel in Alcapoco when Howard Hughes was living on the top floor.  Strange man, but a genius is many ways.     Interesting thoughts, Stauffenberg.