Pioneers in Dermatology and Venereology: an interview with Prof. G.K. Steigleder
2020; Wiley; Volume: 34; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1111/jdv.16284
ISSN1468-3083
Autores Tópico(s)Hair Growth and Disorders
ResumoI was born in Fulda (Hessia) on 25 January 1925. I went to primary school and secondary school in Frankfurt am Main from 1931 to 1943. I studied medicine in Frankfurt and Marburg from 1943 to 1948. My studies were only interrupted for a short time by military service and when I became a prisoner of war in 1945. In 1948, I got my M.D. (Dr.med.) degree by writing an experimental thesis published in Bruns’ Beiträge zur klinischen Chirurgie (1949; 178: 623–638) which was actually my first paper of nearly 600 to follow. From 1948 to 1950, I spent some time in the Department of Anatomy, in the Department of Internal Medicine (Head of the department was Franz Volhard) and in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Frankfurt. In January 1950, I started my real career in the Department of Dermatology and Venereology at the University of Frankfurt (Head: Oscar Gans). Since I was interested in the interplay of structure and function of the skin, I performed histochemistry and demonstrated that a mantle of enzymes covers the epidermis, mainly non-specific esterases. In December 1952, I became Privatdozent (Assistant Professor) and a member of the Medical Faculty. Together with Oscar Gans, I wrote the second edition of his standard textbook on dermatohistology, Histologie der Hautkrankheiten. In 1956–1957, I spent 5 months as a visiting professor in the Section of Dermatology of the University of Chicago (Head: Stephen Rothman). In 1959, C.T. Nelson invited me to become a staff member of the Department of Dermatology at the Columbia University in New York. I had to do the histology for the department and to teach the residents. I participated in conferences of the Department of Surgical Pathology and came in contact with A. Purdy Stout there. In 1961, I returned to Frankfurt (Head: Franz Herrmann). In November 1964, I became the chairman of the Department of Dermatology at the University of Cologne. In 1977, I organized with my coworkers the Congress of the German Dermatological Society in Cologne. I established a clinic for HIV-infected people in North Rhine-Westphalia with the help of my former coworkers W. Sterry and H. Rasokat. Together with H. Gartmann, later with H. Pullmann and H.J.Schulze, I organized regular meetings on dermatohistology. From these meetings, the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Dermatohistologie (Association of Dermatohistologists within the German Dermatological Society) originated. From 1968 to 1970, I was the medical director of the University Hospital; 1970 to 1971, dean of the Medical Faculty. From 1971 to 1980, I was secretary general; 1980–1982, president of the German Dermatological Society. From 1980 to 1988, I was a member of the International Committee of Dermatohistology as representative of the BRD. From 1981 to 1992, I served as the editor of the Zeitschrift für Hautkrankheiten (now the Journal of the German Dermatological Society, JDDG). I am honorary or corresponding member of several dermatological societies and a member of the Leopoldina. In 1969, I was offered the chairmanship of my former Department of Dermatology in Frankfurt, which I declined. I became Honorary Doctor of the University of Szeged and Honorary Professor of Dermatology of the Department of Dermatology of the Columbia University of New York. I wrote Pocket Book on Dermatology (six German editions), Pocket Atlas of Dermatology (three German editions) and Pocket Book on Dermatotherapy (four German editions). In 1990, I retired and opened a private practice where I worked until my 85th birthday. I am still concerned with psoriasis which I consider primary as an ‘autoinflammation of the horny layer’ and the autoimmunity to follow. I am especially interested in the lipids of the neutrophils in this process. Since 1955, I have been married to Inge Krebs, a granddaughter of the surgeon Erwin Payr. We have three children, six grandchildren and one great-grandchild. My hobbies are studying contemporary history and walking. I came to dermatology because I met Professor Oscar Gans. With him, I enjoyed working in the field of dermato-histology and histological techniques which became the subject of my doctoral thesis. But this was only one aspect: to be honest, with Oscar Gans, I had the chance to get a paid resident position at the University Department which was rare in those days. Almost all my colleagues were working for free. Furthermore, I had in mind to start an academic career. My most important teachers in dermatology were Oscar Gans and Franz Herrmann; in practical clinical dermatology, Erich Landes. For me, my most important publication was the new edition of the book Histology by Oscar Gans; this directed my future career. It was enriched by several book chapters; ‘Handbook general pathology III’ (Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 1960; 2: 539–665) and J. Jadassohn's supplementary series as well as Gottron & Schönfeld's handbook. I have been president of the German Dermatological Society (DDG), president of the Rhenish-Westphalian Dermatology Society and the working group Dermatohistology. I was secretary general of the DDG for 9 years. My greatest achievement in my academic career was the call to the chairmanship at the University of Cologne in 1964. My greatest disappointments were when important coworkers left. My experiences with Erich Hoffmann (he was kind of bipolar maniac-depressive) and Stephen Rothmann were rather funny. I wrote about these encounters in the ‘Blue Journal’ (J Amer Acad Dermatol 1988; 19: 596–598). Probably, I am the last living person who knows these two gentlemen closely. This question makes me embarrassed. What should one select: the brilliant clinician, scientist or politician, with relevance to general medicine? I would like to name Oskar Gans as a student of Unna. Unfortunately, his work was interrupted by the Nazi terror. Paul Gerson Unna has a unique importance with his histo-pathology of skin diseases and the textbook on histochemistry. I also regard Albert Neisser as very important due to his discovery of the elicitor of gonorrhoea. J. Vonkennel and J. Kimmig have great merits through the development of the first oral drug against diabetes together with the pharmacologist Lemke (isopropylthiazole with also cytostatic and antimycotic effects) and the production of substances with penicillin-like effects, the mycotins. These works have not been really recognized in general medicine due to the political involvement of Prof. Vonkennel in the 3rd Reich, whereas Josef Kimmig was innocent. I want to name Josef Kimmig also with regard to his support for mycology and allergy. Heinrich Gottron and Erich Hoffmann should not be left out. Otto Braun-Falco has shaped the development of dermatology in Western Germany, and I also want to name Stephania Jablonska. Achille Civatte was the first to differentiate between pemphigus and pemphigoid. From the United States, I want to name Stephen Rothman, Albert Kligman, Thomas Fitzpatrick and Bernie Ackerman who showed the competence of dermato-histology versus pathology. Stephen Katz has to be mentioned too. This is a difficult question since I could not really follow the progress in molecular biology. I would definitely like to mention Klaus Wolff*, Georg Stingl and Rudolf Happle. The greatest problem for dermatology will be the challenge of not losing the roots in classical dermatology and important subspecialties like allergy, oncology and phlebology. ‘Dermatology will be morphology or it will not exist’, said Oskar Gans. Everything else can also be done well by other people. In the coming 10 years, psoriasis and atopic dermatitis will be relatively easy to treat, maybe also melanoma. I hope very much that these entities will not be lost to other disciplines. *Prof. Klaus Wolff sadly passed away on 20 December 2019, after this interview was conducted. Note: The Pioneers in Dermatology and Venereology interview was conceived and conducted by Johannes Ring.
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