Posted by Squiggles on January 7, 2006, at 8:05:25
I just learned of this (Dr. Bob, you can
place it where you like - i thought it
required a prominent file):I am so sad to have just learned of this. I was hoping so much that Dr. Schou would get the Nobel Prize for psychiatry/pharmacology. He was
so devoted to his work and contributed so much to the field of mental illness. He was a pioneer. Those who know about lithium and bipolar illness will appreciate his great contribution and the importance of his work will remain fundamental in medicine .
I never knew him but I miss him as if I did.--------------------------
Mogens Schou, M.D., Dr. Med. Sci.
Honorary President
International Society for Bipolar Disorders
Emeritus Professor
The Psychiatric Hospital Risskov, Denmark
The International Society for Bipolar Disorders was saddened to learn of the passing of Professor Mogens Schou on Thursday, September 29th,
2005. Professor Schou, an Emeritus Professor at the Psychiatric Hospital in Risskov, Denmark, exemplified the ISBD's vision for the future of
bipolar research and hence was named as the Honorary President of the Society. His devotion to his life's work reflects a true desire to help
others coupled with an intrinsic scientific curiosity, a spirit that
guides the ISBD towards fulfillment of its missionand objectives.
Professor Schou's contribution to the field of psychiatry came relatively early in the lithium revolution. Prior to lithium, sedatives, ECT and extensive use of restraints where the
main alternatives; however, lithium had the disadvantage of a very narrow therapeutic window, with ranges at which it yielded its
beneficial effects quite close to those at which it induced toxic effects. This coupled with a toxicity scare related to the use of
lithium in patients on sodium restricted diets, which resulted in some deaths, led to skepticism about its potential as a therapeutic agent.
Professor Schou's ability to monitor patients' lithium levels resulted in the successful use of lithium in clinical trials. In 1952 Professor
Schou and his associates gave lithium to their first manic patient, and subsequent studies confirmed the antimanic effect of lithium, earlier
observed in 1949 by John Cade. Schou's further studies helped establish remarkable, long term efficacy of lithium and paved the
way for its use as a prophylactic agent. Furthermore, the claims of lithium's efficacy were made for a non-sedative agent of very low cost.
Professor Schou's work helped to bring biological psychiatry to prominence by championing one of the first truly efficacious
medications for manic depressive illness, and along with his colleagues, helped to save lithium from its critics. Together with IGSLI,
an international research team he initiated, Professor Schou has studied the effects of long-term lithium treatment on mortality and suicidal behavior, as well as the genetics of
those who were excellent lithium responders.
Professor Schou has published more than 530 articles, books and book chapters and has received numerous honors and awards. He will be
remembered through the influence his work has had on today's researchers and clinicians and through the Mogens Schou awards presented at the biennial International Conference on Bipolar Disorder (ICBD) in Pittsburgh.
Dr. Samuel Gershon, past ISBD President and a close colleague of Professor Schou offers these words, "I knew Mogens Schou for 40 years
and we had a close personal and professional relationship. Although his
contribution to the field will leave a permanent and lasting legacy, the loss of his humanity and personal commitment to science and patientcare are irreplaceable."
/Squiggles
poster:Squiggles
thread:596164
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20051231/msgs/596164.html