Hi katgirl99,
Well this has been quite a research project – for several reasons.
First, credit for the “discovery” of the relationship between
cholesterol and heart disease doesn’t really rest on a single person.
Check out this timeline –
1779 - Caleb Parry published his discovery that angina pectoris was
due to obstructed coronary artery
1908 - A.I. Ignatowski attempted to induce atherosclerosis in an
experimental animal
1910 - A. Windaus reported that atheromatous lesions had 6 times as
much cholesterol as a normal arterial wall
1912 - Anichkov induce atherosclerosis in rabbits
1913 - Anichkov reported one of the ten greatest discoveries of
Western medicine: the discovery of cholesterol was actually the
primary factor in initiating atherosclerosis
Milestones in the discovery of cholesterol
http://medweb.pc.edu/students/med2003/couch1/page2.html
However, as robertskelton-ga pointed out in the comment, Mr. Anichkov
passed away in 1964, and you agree that he is not the person you are
looking for.
Since Anichkov’s discovery almost 100 years ago, many people have been
working on different aspects of the cholesterol-heart disease link, so
of course there are many “firsts.”
What I did was look at the problem from the reverse direction. Rather
than search for the “discoverer,” I searched the NY Times archives --
all 420 returns for “cholesterol” and “heart” and “researcher” back
to 1998.
Below are the most likely candidates that I found. Any of these could
be players in the “discovery” of cholesterol’s link to heart disease.
For each I’ve linked you to the NY Times Obituary. To access the
abstract you will have to sign up for a free account with the NY Times
online. To read the full article you will have to pay for it. There
are instructions on the site for doing that.
Also for each (so you don’t have to waste your money on the NY Times
article for the wrong man) I’ve included some biographical information
found on other sites.
*************************************************
KONRAD E BLOCH
*************************************************
NATIONAL DESK | October 18, 2000, Wednesday
Konrad E. Bloch, 88, Nobelist Who Studied Cholesterol, Dies
By CARMEL McCOUBREY (NYT) Obituary (Obit); Biography 654 words
Late Edition - Final, Section C, Page 23, Column 1
ABSTRACT - Dr Konrad E Bloch, who won Nobel Prize for explaining how
cholesterol is formed in body, dies at age 88; photo (M)
http://query.nytimes.com/search/abstract?res=F00616FF3F5A0C7B8DDDA90994D8404482
------------------------------------------------
NOBEL MUSEUM – KONRAD BLOCH – BIOGRAPHY
http://www.nobel.se/medicine/laureates/1964/bloch-bio.html
--------------------------------------------------
[Bloch’s] brilliant dissection of how cholesterol is made in living
tissues was a remarkable achievement, especially given the state of
knowledge in the 1940s and 1950s of how living organisms synthesize
molecules.
Nature 409, 779 (2001) © Macmillan Publishers Ltd.
Obituary: Konrad E. Bloch (1912–2000)
http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v409/n6822/full/409779a0_r.html
*****************************************************
EDWARD H AHRENS, JR.
*****************************************************
NATIONAL DESK | December 16, 2000, Saturday
Edward Ahrens Cholesterol Researcher, Is Dead at 85
By CARMEL McCOUBREY (NYT) Obituary (Obit); Biography 1147 words
Late Edition - Final, Section B, Page 9, Column 1
ABSTRACT - Dr Edward H Ahrens Jr, cholesterol researcher, dies at age
85; photo (M)
http://query.nytimes.com/search/abstract?res=F60816F73D5D0C758DDDAB0994D8404482
-------------------------------------------------
Dr. Edward H. Ahrens, an esteemed member of the medical society,
passed away on Dec. 9 in Princeton, NJ. For decades, Dr. Ahrens
conducted research on blood cholesterol levels and whether dietary
change could avoid atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is a disease in
which cholesterol is deposited in the walls of arteries, impeding
blood flow and leading to strokes and heart attacks.
Dr. Ahrens ultimately discovered that the effect of fat was related to
its saturation, or the ability of a fat molecule to combine chemically
with hydrogen atoms. Saturated fat, like butter, does not have the
ability to combine with any other atoms except its own, while an
unsaturated fat like olive oil can.
This discovery is considered the basis for all current rhetoric and
changes in the way people monitor their diets. Essentially, it was the
first practical way for persons to lower their cholesterol levels,
allowing them to change dietary fat.
PAINLAB – SPECIAL ADDITION – EDWARD AHRENS, CHOLESTEROL RESEARCHER
http://www.painlab.com/special_edition.htm?.htm
--------------------------------------------------
VOLUME 12, NUMBER 12 • DECEMBER 15, 2000
In memoriam: Edward H. Ahrens Jr.
Edward H. Ahrens Jr., professor emeritus at The Rockefeller University
and a pioneer in early research on lipids and cholesterol metabolism,
died Sat., Dec. 9. He was 85.
Ahrens's studies contributed important information toward a better
understanding of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, hormonal disorders
and obesity. In the early 1950s, he was the first to perform careful
dietary studies, using formula diets, to test the effects of different
types of fats on cholesterol levels, and his laboratory provided
definitive confirmation that the kind of fats we eat can alter the
level of cholesterol in our blood.
His primary interest in later years was the relationship of
cholesterol metabolism to the genesis of coronary heart disease.
ROCKEFELLER UNIVERSITY – NEWS NOTES – AHRENS
VOLUME 12, NUMBER 12 • DECEMBER 15, 2000
http://www.rockefeller.edu/pubinfo/news_notes/121500g.html
***********************************************
DONALD S FREDERICKSON
***********************************************
NATIONAL DESK | June 11, 2002, Tuesday
Donald S. Fredrickson, 77, Researcher on the Links of Fat to Heart
Disease
By LAWRENCE K. ALTMAN (NYT) Obituary (Obit); Biography 544 words
Late Edition - Final, Section A, Page 26, Column 1
ABSTRACT - Dr Donald S Fredrickson, former director of National
Institutes of Health and Howard Hughes Medical Research Institute,
dies at age 77; photo (M)
http://query.nytimes.com/search/abstract?res=F60816F63A590C728DDDAF0894DA404482
------------------------------------------------------
Former NIH Director Donald Fredrickson, 77, Pioneered Acceptance of
Genetic Engineering
Donald S. Fredrickson (M.D. 1949), noted geneticist and leading
researcher on the relationship between lipids, fats and heart disease,
died on June 7 at the age of 77 at his home in Bethesda, Maryland.
“After he graduated from the Medical School, he began a career in
research and scientific leadership. Dr. Fredrickson discovered two
genetic disorders and helped to illuminate our understanding of plasma
lipoproteins. While serving as NIH director, he smoothed the way for
our society’s acceptance of genetic engineering and the safety of
recombinant DNA technology.”
MEDICINE AT MICHIGAN – CLASS NOTES
http://www.medicineatmichigan.org/magazine/2002/summer/classnotes/default.asp
-----------------------------------------------
Donald S. Fredrickson, a former director of the National Institutes of
Health and an expert on cholesterol, passed away June 10th after
suffering a heart attack. He was 77.
http://www.hhs.gov/news/newsletter/weekly/archive/16jun02.htm
-------------------------------------------------
This article describes the different lines of genetic research that
have followed Frederickson’s discovery of the effects of HDL (“good”
cholesterol) on heart disease and its genetic root.
The Race to Find the Tangier Disease Gene
Rare disorder sheds some light on a common killer: coronary artery
disease
By Brendan A. Maher
The Scientist 15[19]:21, Oct. 1, 2001
Donald S. Fredrickson first described Tangier disease 40 years ago
after finding it in two siblings, inhabitants of the tiny Chesapeake
Bay island from which the disease gets its name. ..The discovery by
Fredrickson, a former National Institutes of Health director, waved
the green flag for scientists to find Tangier's cause.
The Scientist 15[19]:21, Oct. 1, 2001
http://www.the-scientist.com/yr2001/oct/hot_011001.html
* To access this article you must go through the free registration
process. The site will walk you through the process from my link
above, then will return you to that article.
############################################
Then I took the opposite approach and looked for any other individuals
who are credited with discoveries related to the link between
cholesterol and heart disease, and tried to cross-reference those with
NY Times articles.
*************************************
JOHN WILLIAM GOFMAN
************************************
“For reasons still unknown, coronary heart disease suddenly took off
during the 1920s throughout the industrialised world. By the 1940s it
was becoming the major cause of premature death. And nobody knew why.
In 1950 an American doctor, JOHN GOFMAN hypothesised that blood
cholesterol was to blame.”
http://www.ratical.org/radiation/CNR/JWGcv.html
[GOFMAN:] “I did start working on heart disease. We were able to
figure out why [the previous work ended with] bizarre results that
happened in the ultracentrifuge, an instrument for studying proteins
and lipoproteins. We solved that in 1948 and published [our findings;
we] opened the way for [our] discover[y of] the whole sequence of
low-density lipoproteins. We worked on coronary disease.
I got the Stouffer Prize in 1972 for the work on heart disease. Last
year, I was honored by being [a] guest speaker at the American Heart
Association. It's been a long time since I work[ed on] that. But I
gave a talk. It took me about 6 weeks to prepare it.”
DEPT OF ENERGY – ORAL HISTORIES – JOHN GOFMAN
http://tis.eh.doe.gov/ohre/roadmap/histories/0457/0457toc.html
*NO REFERENCES IN THE NY TIMES.
*NOT DECEASED.
*********************************************
JOHN HUNDALE LAWRENCE
*********************************************
John Hundale Lawrence, Biophysics: Berkeley
1903-1991
Professor of Medical Physics,
Regent of the University of California
John Lawrence's philosophy of leadership included creation and
maintenance of an environment where leaders in medicine, science, and
education could mingle with students … This led to the discovery of
cholesterol and lipoprotein relationships to heart disease as well as
to major underpinning of nuclear medicine.
BERKELY – MEMORIAM – JOHN LAWRENCE
http://sunsite.berkeley.edu:2020/dynaweb/teiproj/uchist/inmemoriam/inmemoriam1991/@Generic__BookTextView/1869
*NO REFERENCE IN THE NY TIMES
********************************************
So that’s the group. As you can see there are many players in the link
between cholesterol and heart disease – many claiming to be the first
in one way or another. I hope one of these looks familiar to you. If
anything isn’t clear or any of the links don’t work, please don’t
hesitate to ask for a clarification.
--K~
Search strategy: NY Times archives search for:
Cholesterol and Heart and research
Then looked up each scientist by name |
