The Genain quadruplets (born in 1930) are a set of identical quadruplet sisters. All four developed

schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social wit ...

, suggesting a large genetic component to the cause of the disease. The pseudonym ''Genain'', used to protect the identity of the family, comes from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

, meaning ''dire ''(αἶνος)'' birth ''(γεν-). The sisters were given the pseudonyms Nora, Iris, Myra and Hester, to represent each of the four letters in NIMH, the acronym for the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

National Institute of Mental Health The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is one of 27 institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIH, in turn, is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and is the prima ...

. Nora, Iris, and Hester were hospitalized for their schizophrenia at least once each. As of 2011, Iris and Hester had died.

Personal lives

The sisters were born in a midwestern American town (nicknamed "Envira") on April 14, 1930. They were considered local celebrities due to the quadruple nature of their birth. The four sisters grew up with their parents in the same household. The Genain sisters' parents were described as "disturbed". Their paternal grandmother may have had paranoid schizophrenia, and their father was described as abusive. Myra and Nora were probably treated more favorably by their parents, while Iris and Hester were treated more harshly. The parents considered Hester to be a "habitual masturbator" and referred to her as a "moron type" or "sex maniac". Iris and Hester were both

circumcised Circumcision is a procedure that removes the foreskin from the human penis. In the most common form of the operation, the foreskin is extended with forceps, then a circumcision device may be placed, after which the foreskin is excised. Topic ...

as children in order to prevent them from masturbation. The quadruplets were reportedly physically abused by their father, pseudonymed as ''Mr. Genain''. Subsequently, the Genains accepted an offer by the

NIMH NIMH may refer to: *Nickel–metal hydride battery (NiMH), a type of electrical battery *National Institute of Mental Health, an agency of the United States government *National Institute of Medical Herbalists, a professional organisation in the Un ...

to take the daughters into their clinic and each was diagnosed with schizophrenia. All of the sisters except Hester graduated from high school. Myra worked as a secretary for most of her life. She married and had two sons. When she grew older, she frequently visited her sisters Nora and Hester. Her eldest son contracted AIDS after a blood transfusion and died in 1996, while her younger son became a maintenance worker and retained a close relationship with his mother. Nora later managed the income the sisters received for having their photograph published in textbooks. Iris worked as a beautician for a while but most of her adult life was spent institutionalized.

Illness and scientific research

All four of the sisters developed schizophrenia by the age of 24. There was a history of mental illness in Mr. Genain's family that might have been an example of genetics being linked with mental illness or it may have just been a dysfunctional and abusive family free from a specific genetic component. Mr. Genain's mother had had a three-year nervous breakdown in her late teens.

Personal lives

Illness and scientific research

References

Further reading