Nobel Prizes that Changed Medicine

The following sections are included:

• CONTENTS

• FOREWORD

• PREFACE

• ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

• CONTRIBUTORS

The following sections are included:

• Introduction

• The Pancreas and Diabetes

• Banting and Macleod

• The First Clinical Test

• The Nobel Prize

• The Long-term Impact of the Discovery

• References

The following sections are included:

• Introduction

• Brief Biographies
  • George Whipple
  • George Minot
  • William Murphy

• The Medical Problem

• Possible Mechanisms
  • The nutritional deficiency concept
  • Why liver therapy worked

• Subsequent Research
  • Isolation of vitamin B12
  • Extrinsic and intrinsic factors
  • Discovery of folic acid
  • Two vitamins
  • Vitamin B12/folate interactions
  • Neurological damage
  • Systemic effects of vitamin and folate deficiencies

• Impact of the Discovery of Vitamin B12 on Medical Practice

• References

The following sections are included:

• Introduction

• Biographical Sketches
  • Alexander Fleming
    • Education and career
    • The antibiotic revolution and the Fleming myth
    • The man and his achievements
  • Howard Florey
    • Move to England
    • Cambridge and early work on lysozyme
    • Chair of Pathology in Oxford and the development of penicillin
    • Recognition and its rewards
  • Ernst Chain
    • Move to Britain
    • Moves to and from Rome

• Steps in the Discovery and Development of Penicillin

• The Impact of the Introduction of Penicillin into Clinical Practice

• From Triumph to Tragedy?

• The Creation of the Fleming Myth

• Allocation of Credit Due and Conclusions

• References

The following sections are included:

• Prologue

• Introduction

• Biographical Background of the Laureates
  • Werner Forssmann
  • André Cournand
  • Dickinson Richards

• The Problem: Cardiopulmonary Physiology and Clinical Investigation of the Heart 80 Years Ago

• Description of the Research

• Impact of Cardiac Catheterisation on Medical Science

• Acknowledgements

• References

The following sections are included:

• Introduction

• Brief Biographies of the Major Protagonists
  • Francis Crick
  • James Watson
  • Maurice Wilkins
  • Rosalind Franklin

• Early Discoveries that Paved the Way to Unravelling the Structure of DNA

• Complementary Approaches to Analysing the Structure of DNA in the 1950s
  • Model building at the Cavendish and X-ray diffraction at King's
  • The wrong model
  • The correct model

• Impact of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA on Medical Science
  • Mendelian genetics
  • The HapMap Project
  • Human history
  • The genomic basis of common diseases and traits
  • Somatic cell genomics and cancer
  • Diagnosis and treatment

• The Future

• References

The following sections are included:

• Introduction

• The Scientific Revolution in Medicine 1770–1970

• Discovery of the Genetic Code

• Implications of the Genetic Code for Clinical Medicine

• References

The following sections are included:

• Introduction

• Background of the Laureates
  • Roger Guillemin
  • Andrew Schally
  • Rosalyn Yalow

• Discoveries Concerning the Peptide Hormone Production of the Brain
  • The elusive link between the hypothalamus and pituitary
  • Identification of the first hypothalamic hormone: Thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH)
  • Luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH)
  • Somatostatin
  • Endorphins

• The Development of Radioimmunoassays of Peptide Hormones
  • Challenges of peptide hormone measurement
  • The basis of radioimmunoassay
  • The development of radioimmunoassay
  • Application of radioimmunoassay
  • Radioimmunoassay and peptides of the brain

• References

The following sections are included:

• Introduction

• Brief Biographical Sketches of the Laureates
  • Allan MacLeod Cormack (1924–1998)
  • Sir Godfrey Newbold Hounsfield FRS (1919–2004)

• The Medical Problem or Scientific Question

• A Description of the Research that was Undertaken to Provide the Solution
  • Mathematical basis of CT scanning
  • Roles of EMI and the Department of Health
  • Neuroradiological applications of CT scanning

• The Nature and Scale of the Impact of these Discoveries on Medical Science

• References

The following sections are included:

• Introduction

• Lipids: Just Fats?

• Bergström's Work on Prostaglandin Purification

• Bergström and Samuelsson's Work on Prostaglandin Biosynthesis

• Samuelsson's Work on the Role of Oxygen in the Biosynthetic Reaction

• Vane's Work with Prostaglandins

• The Discovery of ‘RCS’

• The Aspirin ‘Enigma’

• The Detection and Isolation of an Intermediate in Prostaglandin Biosynthesis and RCS Characterised

• Impact of these Discoveries on Medical Science

• References

The following sections are included:

• Introduction

• Biographical Details of the Laureates
  • Niels Jerne
  • Georges Köhler
  • César Milstein

• The Antibody Problem

• Cell Fusion

• Why is the Discovery Important?
  • The antibody problem
  • Impact of diagnostics and research tools
  • Therapeutic antibodies

• Commercialisation of Monoclonal Antibodies

• Translational Research

• References

The following sections are included:

• Introduction

• Biographical Background of the Laureates
  • Joseph Goldstein
  • Michael Brown

• The Problem: Familial Hypercholesterolaemia 40 Years Ago

• The Solution: Discovery of the LDL Receptor and its Partial or Complete Absence in FH

• The Scavenger Receptor and Atherosclerosis

• Stimulation of Receptor-mediated Catabolism of LDL by Statins

• Analysis of the LDL Receptor Gene and Mutations Causing FH

• Impact of these Discoveries on Medical Science

• References

The following sections are included:

• Introduction

• Michael Smith (1932–2000)
  • Biographical sketch: early life and education
  • From postdoctoral fellow to independent scientist
  • Work that led to the Nobel Prize

• Kary Mullis (1944– )
  • Biographical sketch: early life and education
  • Joining the Cetus Corporation: work that led to the Nobel Prize

• How these Nobel Prize-winning Discoveries Changed Medicine
  • The impact of PCR and site-directed mutagenesis on medical practice
  • An example of how PCR and site-directed mutagenesis changed research into inherited disease

• References

The following sections are included:

• Introduction

• Biographical Backgrounds of the Laureates
  • Robert Furchgott
  • Ferid Murad
  • Louis Ignarro

• Identification of Endothelium-Derived Relaxing Factor

• Physiological Significance of Nitric Oxide

• Therapeutic Consequences of the Discovery of the Role of Nitric Oxide

• References

The following sections are included:

• Synopsis

• Biographies
  • Robin Warren
    • Family
    • Education
    • Professional and personal life
    • Personality
  • Barry Marshall
    • Family
    • Education
    • Professional and personal life
    • Personality

• The Medical Problem that was Addressed
  • Gastric ulcers
  • Duodenal ulcers
  • Aspirin
  • False theories and treatments
  • H2 antagonists
  • Bismuth
  • Gastric bacteria

• The Research
  • September–December 1981
  • 1982
    • First culture
    • Bacteria and ulcers
    • First reactions
  • 1983
    • First publication
    • Serology and a wild theory
    • Bactericidal bismuth
  • 1984
    • Self-ingestion
    • Growing interest
    • Urease testing
  • 1985
    • First randomised controlled trial of antibiotic treatments for ulcers
    • Teamwork
    • Resistance
    • Full circle

• Impact on Medical Science
  • Peptic ulceration
  • Dyspepsia management
  • NSAIDs and aspirin as a cause of ulcers and the development of selective cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 inhibitors
  • Reflux
  • Malignancies
  • Genetic microbiology
  • Evolution
  • History of disease
  • Consequences of H. pylori loss
  • Save the Helicobacter!

• References

The following sections are included:

• Introduction

• Biographical and Scientific Background of the Laureates
  • Andrew Fire
  • Craig Mello

• The Discovery of Genetic Interference by Double-Stranded RNA

• Understanding the Mechanism Underlying RNAi

• RNAi Functions in the Cell and Viral Infection

• The Impact of RNA Interference on Biomedical Research and Drug Discovery

• The Potential for RNA Interference as a Novel Therapeutic Modality

• Conclusions

• Acknowledgements

• References

The following sections are included:

• Appendix: The First 100 Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine

• Index