André Strohl (20 March 1887 – 10 March 1977) was a French physiologist who was a native of Poitiers. He is remembered for his role in the diagnosis of

Guillain–Barré syndrome Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS) is a rapid-onset muscle weakness caused by the immune system damaging the peripheral nervous system. Typically, both sides of the body are involved, and the initial symptoms are changes in sensation or pain oft ...

(sometimes called Guillain–Barré–Strohl syndrome), a form of areflexic paralysis which exhibits normal cell count but with an abnormal increase in

spinal fluid Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is a clear, colorless body fluid found within the tissue that surrounds the brain and spinal cord of all vertebrates. CSF is produced by specialised ependymal cells in the choroid plexus of the ventricles of the br ...

protein. The syndrome is named after two French

neurologist Neurology (from el, νεῦρον (neûron), "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the brain, the spinal c ...

s; Georges Guillain and

Jean Alexandre Barré Jean Alexandre Barré (25 May 1880, Nantes – 26 April 1967, Strasbourg) was a French neurologist who in 1916 worked on the identification of Guillain-Barré-Strohl syndrome, as well as Barré–Liéou syndrome. Biography First studies He st ...

. In 1916, during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Strohl was serving in the Neurological Centre of the

French Sixth Army The Sixth Army (french: 6eme Armée) was a field army of the French Army during World War I and World War II. World War I The Sixth Army was formed 26 August 1914, composed of troops from various disparate French armies: two active army corps, th ...

with Guillain and Barré. The three doctors noticed that two soldiers, who were suffering from muscular weakening and pain along with

paresthesias Paresthesia is an abnormal sensation of the skin (tingling, pricking, chilling, burning, numbness) with no apparent physical cause. Paresthesia may be transient or chronic, and may have any of dozens of possible underlying causes. Paresthesias ar ...

,Guillain–Barré–Strohl syndrome
at Who Named It had an unexpected amount of spinal fluid protein production.Guillain–Barré syndrome by Wilder D. Smith
American Chemical Society, 2002, diseasesanddisorders. Strohl is credited with performing the

electrophysiological Electrophysiology (from Greek , ''ēlektron'', "amber" etymology of "electron"">Electron#Etymology">etymology of "electron" , ''physis'', "nature, origin"; and , ''-logia'') is the branch of physiology that studies the electrical properties of bi ...

tests on the soldiers. Eventually, the two patients were able to recover from their illness. In 1916, Guillain, Barré and Strohl reported their findings in a medical journal. In 1927, H. Draganesco and J. Claudion coined the term "Guillain–Barré syndrome", apparently overlooking Strohl's contributions. In 1924 Strohl became a professor of physiological medicine in Algiers, and two years later acquired the same position at the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

. He retired from there in 1957. He was also a member of the Académie Nationale de Médecine.

Selected bibliography

* G. Guillain, J. A. Barré, A. Strohl: ''Le réflexe médico-plantaire: Étude de ses caracteres graphiques et de son temps perdu''. Bulletins et mémoires de la Société des Médecins des Hôpitaux de Paris, 1916, 40: 1459-1462. * G. Guillain, J. A. Barré, A. Strohl: ''Sur un syndrome de radiculonévrite avec hyperalbuminose du liquide céphalo-rachidien sans réaction cellulaire. Remarques sur les caractères cliniques et graphiques des réflexes tendineux''. Bulletins et mémoires de la Société des Médecins des Hôpitaux de Paris, 1916, 40: 1462-1470.

References

''André Strohl''
@

Who Named It ''Whonamedit?'' is an online English-language dictionary of medical eponyms and the people associated with their identification. Though it is a dictionary, many eponyms and persons are presented in extensive articles with comprehensive bibliograp ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strohl, Andre French physiologists 1887 births 1977 deaths Neuroscience pioneers Academic staff of the University of Paris People from Poitiers