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Neurosurgery and the Nobel Prize

1998; Elsevier BV; Volume: 73; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/s0025-6196(11)63630-6

1942-5546

Robert J. White,

Neurology and Historical Studies

To the Editor.The “Decade of the Brain,” as dedicated by former president George Bush, is more than half over, and one might ask the question, “Will neurosurgery be honored by having one of its own awarded the Nobel Prize for medicine or physiology?” This question is especially appropriate as the 10-year period that was specifically designated to emphasize research on the human central nervous system rapidly comes to an end. To date, nine surgeons have received this most distinguished of all awards in biomedical research.1Swan KG Jain KM Casey KF Nobel Prize winners in surgery.Am Surg. 1982; 48: 555-557PubMed Google Scholar The honorees have included one orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Frederick Banting; two urologie surgeons, Drs. Werner Forssmann and Charles Huggins; one otolaryngologic surgeon, Dr. Robert Bárány (the “father of otoneurology”); two general surgeons, Drs. Emil Kocher and Alexis Carrel; recent recipient (1990) Dr. Joseph Murray, a plastic surgeon; and two ophthalmologic surgeons, Drs. Allvar Gullstrand and Walter Hess. In Hessapos;s classic work on the central nervous system, he unraveled “the functional organization of the inter-brain as coordinator of the activities of the internal organs.”1Swan KG Jain KM Casey KF Nobel Prize winners in surgery.Am Surg. 1982; 48: 555-557PubMed Google Scholar Two other Nobel Prize laureates have been inaccurately classified as surgeons, one of whom is Dr. Alexander Fleming,2Maurois A The life of Sir Alexander Fleming, discoverer of penicillin [American version]. Dutton, New York1959Google Scholar the discoverer of penicillin. Although he passed the examination for the Royal College of Surgeons and received his F.R.C.S. degree, Fleming never performed any surgical procedures. Even more fascinating is the case of Dr. Antonio Egas Moniz,3Perino FR EgasMoniz: founder of psychosurgery, creator of angiog-raphy, Nobel Prize winner; 1874-1958.J Int Coll Surg. 1961; 36: 261-271PubMed Google Scholar who has been listed as a neurosurgeon but was actually a distinguished medical neurologist who received the Nobel Prize for his demonstration of the therapeutic value of frontal lobe leukotomy for certain psychoses. In fact, Moniz had no surgical training and employed the operative talents of a young neurosurgeon, Dr. Alemeida Lima,3Perino FR EgasMoniz: founder of psychosurgery, creator of angiog-raphy, Nobel Prize winner; 1874-1958.J Int Coll Surg. 1961; 36: 261-271PubMed Google Scholar to perform the brain tissue resections. Moniz should also be remembered for his development of an extremely important vascular diagnostic technique, cerebral arteriography. Thus, although nine surgeons from various specialties have received the Nobel Prize for medicine or physiology, no neurosurgeon has ever been so honored. Two early neurosurgeons may have come close to receiving this outstanding distinction, however. One was Dr. Wilder Penfield, whose pioneering work documented cortical localization in the exposed brain of awake patients, and the other was Dr. Harvey Cushing, who conducted seminal studies in neuroendocrinology. What of today? Many neurosurgeons in the United States and abroad are actively engaged in important research in both basic and clinical neuroscience. Surely one or more of these investigators deserve consideration for candidacy for this prestigious honor.