John F. Kurtzke Explained

John Kurtzke
Fields:Neurology, Neuroepidemiology
Workplaces:Georgetown University
Alma Mater:Weill Cornell Medical College
Known For:Expanded Disability Status Scale
Awards:1999 Charcot Award, 1997 Dystel Prize
Footnotes:Obituary
Birth Name:John Francis Kurtzke
Death Place:Falls Church, Virginia
Birth Date:September 14, 1926
Birth Place:Brooklyn, New York City, New York

John Francis Kurtzke (September 14, 1926 – December 1, 2015) was a neuroepidemiologist and Professor of Neurology at Georgetown University who is best known for his creation of the Expanded Disability Status Scale and for his research on multiple sclerosis (MS).[1] After graduating from Cornell University Medical College in 1952, Dr. Kurtzke started his career in the field of Neurology as Chief of the Neurology Service at the Veteran's Affairs (VA) Medical Centers in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, from 1956 to 1963, and then in Washington, DC, from 1963 to 1995, where he became Professor of Neurology at Georgetown University. At the time of his death, he held the title of Professor Emeritus at Georgetown University.

Most of his work dealt with multiple sclerosis (MS). In particular, Dr Kurtzke is widely known for his Expanded Disability Status Scale or EDSS (a method of quantifying disability in multiple sclerosis)[2] and for his pioneering work in the field of neuroepidemiology, a branch of epidemiology he helped to establish in 1967 with Dr. Len Kurland and Dr. Milton Alter.[3]

He was a leading world expert on geographical patterns of prevalence of multiple sclerosis.[4] [5] [6] Kurtzke's results have played a major role in promoting the study of the viral component of MS susceptibility.[7]

The author of more than 200 peer-reviewed articles,[8] [9] [10] he has received several awards including the 1999 Charcot Award by the Multiple Sclerosis International Federation[11] and the 1997 Dystel prize for MS research awarded by the American Academy of Neurology.[12]

In 2009, the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC) and the American Academy of Neurology Foundation (AANF) have created the John F. Kurtzke, MD, FAAN, Clinician-Scientist Development Three-Year Award, a jointly-sponsored fellowship in multiple sclerosis research, "to honor the contributions of Dr. Kurtzke and inspire new MS healthcare professionals to follow in his path."[13]

Like Klaus Lauer,[14] J. Kurtzke has dedicated a large part of his work to the study of MS in the Faroe Islands, with extensive studies dealing with the British occupation of the islands,[15] [16] [17] [18] [19] starting what the New York Times called the MS "medical detective story".[20] He died on December 1, 2015.[21]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: JOHN KURTZKE Obituary - Falls Church, VA - The Washington Post. The Washington Post. 21 December 2015.
  2. Kurtzke JF . Rating neurologic impairment in multiple sclerosis: an expanded disability status scale (EDSS) . Neurology . 33 . 11 . 1444–52 . November 1983 . 6685237 . 10.1212/WNL.33.11.1444. free .
  3. Kelley . Roger E. . Azizi . S. Ausim . Milton Alter, MD, PhD (1929–2016) . Neurology . 87 . 10 . September 2016 . 976–977 . 10.1212/WNL.0000000000003074. 79255558 .
  4. Web site: Archived copy . 2013-06-03 . 2016-03-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304030249/http://www.direct-ms.org/pdf/GeneralInfoMS/CompstonStory.pdf . dead .
  5. Kurtzke . John F. . 1977 . Geography in multiple sclerosis . 10.1007/BF00312546 . 215 . 1 . Journal of Neurology . 1–26 . 67196. 10.1.1.411.475 . 19914730 .
  6. Book: Kurtzke, John F. . Field . E.J. . Multiple Sclerosis: A Critical Conspectus . 1977 . Multiple sclerosis from an epidemiological viewpoint . 10.1007/978-94-010-9534-1_4 . 83–142 . 978-94-010-9536-5.
  7. Trigger, pathogen, or bystander: the complex nexus linking Epstein- Barr virus and multiple sclerosis.. Owens GP, Bennett JL. 22685062. 10.1177/1352458512448109. 18. 9. 2012. Mult. Scler.. 1204–8. 5135482.
  8. Kurtzke . John F. . 2006 . An epidemiologic view of the etiology of multiple sclerosis . Archivos de Neurociencias . 11 . 2 . 90–99.
  9. Web site: Archived copy . 2014-09-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150226172435/http://www.va.gov/MS/Professionals/research/KurtzkeMonograph.pdf . 2015-02-26 . dead .
  10. Web site: Archived copy . 2014-09-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150402095327/http://www.va.gov/MS/Professionals/research/Kurtzke_Slides.pdf . 2015-04-02 . dead .
  11. Web site: World of MS - Research - the Charcot Award . 2022-05-29 . 2013-06-20 . https://archive.today/20130620000418/http://rm2-msif-live.torchboxapps.com/en/research/msif_research_awards/the_charcot.html . bot: unknown .
  12. http://www.nationalmssociety.org/ms-clinical-care-network/researchers/get-funding/john-dystel-prize/index.aspx{{full citation needed|date=August 2014}}
  13. Web site: Archived copy . 2013-06-03 . 2016-03-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304040738/http://www.cmscfoundation.org/news2/press-releases/46-press-releases/125-new-multiple-sclerosis-fellowship-created-in-the-name-of-pioneer-neuroepidemiologist-john-f-kurtzke-md-faan . dead .
  14. Lauer K . Multiple sclerosis in relation to industrial and commercial activities in the Faroe Islands . Neuroepidemiology . 7 . 4 . 228–33 . 1988 . 3264057 . 10.1159/000110155.
  15. Kurtzke JF, Hyllested K . Multiple sclerosis in the Faroe Islands: I. Clinical and epidemiological features . Annals of Neurology . 5 . 1 . 6–21 . January 1979 . 371519 . 10.1002/ana.410050104. 8067353 .
  16. Kurtzke JF, Hyllested K . Validity of the epidemics of multiple sclerosis in the Faroe Islands . Neuroepidemiology . 7 . 4 . 190–227 . 1988 . 3264056 . 10.1159/000110154.
  17. Kurtzke . J. F. . Hyllested . K. . Heltberg . A. . Olsen . Á. . September 1993 . Multiple sclerosis in the Faroe Islands. 5. . 10.1111/j.1600-0404.1993.tb04211.x . 88 . 3 . Acta Neurologica Scandinavica . 161–173 . 8256551. 39114097 .
  18. Kurtzke . John F. . Hyllested . Kay . Multiple Sclerosis in the Faroe Islands and the Lack of Protection by Exposure in Infancy . Neuroepidemiology . 11 . 2 . 1992 . 90–99 . 10.1159/000110917 . 1495579.
  19. Kurtzke . John F. . Hyllested . Kay . March 1986 . Multiple sclerosis in the Faroe Islands . Neurology . 36 . 3 . 307–328 . 10.1212/WNL.36.3.307 . 3951697. 24993626 .
  20. Web site: Brody . Jane E. . MS: A Medical Detective Story . 22 June 1982 . The New York Times . 21 December 2015.
  21. Web site: National MS Society Mourns the Passing of Dr. John Kurtzke. National Multiple Sclerosis Society. 21 December 2015. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20151222155508/http://www.nationalmssociety.org/About-the-Society/News/National-MS-Society-Mourns-the-Passing-of-Dr-John. 22 December 2015.

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