Study shows full moon 'werewolf' effect

A study has shown a significant 'werewolf' effect in unstable patients during a full moon. Photo / Supplied

SYDNEY - A study in an Australian hospital has identified a spike in out-of-control "werewolf" patients when a full moon is out.

There were 91 emergency patients rated as having violent and acute behavioural disturbance at the Calvary Mater Newcastle hospital from August 2008 to July 2009.

Leonie Calver, a clinical research nurse in toxicology, said almost a quarter of the cases (23 per cent) occurred on a night of full moon and this was double the number for other lunar phases.

The patients all had to be sedated and physically restrained to protect themselves and others.

"Some of these patients attacked the staff like animals - biting, spitting and scratching," Ms Calver said.

"One might compare them with the werewolves of the past, who are said to have also appeared during the full moon."

Ms Calver said werewolf mythology included reports of people rubbing "magic ointment" onto their skin or inhaling vapours to induce the shirt-rending transformation from man to beast.

The main ingredients were belladonna and nightshade, she said, both substances that could produce delirium, hallucinations and delusion of bodily metamorphosis.

Ms Calver said it appeared the "modern-day werewolf" preferred alcohol or illicit drugs, as more than 60 per cent of the patients reviewed in the study were under the influence.

"We don't know if its more fun to use drugs and alcohol under a full moon or if their behavioural disturbance is directly influenced by the moon," she said.

"Our findings support the premise that individuals with violent and acute behavioural disturbance are more likely to present to the emergency department during ... full moon."

The research is published in the pre-Christmas edition of the Medical Journal of Australia.

- AAP