![Charles Miller Fisher](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Charles_Miller_Fisher.jpg)
Charles Miller Fisher (December 5, 1913,
Waterloo, Ontario
Waterloo is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is one of three cities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo (formerly Waterloo County). Waterloo is situated about west-southwest of Toronto. Due to the close proximity of the ci ...
– April 14, 2012,
Albany, New York
Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York C ...
) was a Canadian neurologist whose notable contributions include the first detailed descriptions of
lacunar stroke
Lacunar stroke or lacunar cerebral infarct (LACI) is the most common type of ischemic stroke, resulting from the occlusion of small penetrating arteries that provide blood to the brain's deep structures. Patients who present with symptoms of a lac ...
s, the identification of
transient ischemic attacks
A transient ischemic attack (TIA), commonly known as a mini-stroke, is a minor stroke whose noticeable symptoms usually end in less than an hour. TIA causes the same symptoms associated with strokes, such as weakness or numbness on one side of ...
as stroke precursors, the identification of the link between carotid atherosclerosis and stroke, and the description of a variant form 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 ...
which bears his name.
Education and career
Fisher received a B.A. from
Victoria University in Toronto in 1935. He then attended the
University of Toronto Medical School
The Temerty Faculty of Medicine (previously Faculty of Medicine) is the medical school of the University of Toronto. Founded in 1843, the faculty is based in Downtown Toronto and is one of Canada's oldest institutions of medical studies, being k ...
, where he received his M.D. in 1938. He continued training at
Henry Ford Hospital
Henry Ford Hospital (HFH) is an 877-bed tertiary care hospital, education and research complex at the western edge of the New Center area in Detroit, Michigan. The flagship facility for the Henry Ford Health System, it was one of the first hos ...
in Detroit and
Royal Victoria Hospital in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
.
During World War II, Fisher served as a surgical lieutenant in the
Royal Canadian Navy
The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack submar ...
, and was aboard HMS ''Voltaire'' when it was
sunk by German gunfire in 1941 off the coast of
Cape Verde. Fisher was captured and spent 3.5 years in a German prison camp, until late 1944 when he was released.
Following his return to Canada, Fisher began his residency at
McGill University
McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...
at the Royal Victoria Hospital. In 1946 he worked as a Fellow at the
Montreal Neurological Institute
The McGill University Health Centre (MUHC; french: Centre universitaire de santé McGill) is one of two major healthcare networks in the city of Montreal, Quebec. It is affiliated with McGill University and is one of the largest medical complex in ...
of
McGill University
McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...
.
He then began working at
Massachusetts General Hospital on the stroke service, beginning a long career in stroke neurology.
Contributions
Fisher is credited with describing the clinical syndrome of the
transient ischemic attack
A transient ischemic attack (TIA), commonly known as a mini-stroke, is a minor stroke whose noticeable symptoms usually end in less than an hour. TIA causes the same symptoms associated with strokes, such as weakness or numbness on one side of ...
("mini-stroke").
[ Fisher proved, by a series of pathological studies, the relationship between stroke and the formation of blood clots in the heart in patients with atrial fibrillation. He also showed the relationship between stroke and carotid artery stenosis, which made preventive surgery possible and greatly reduced the incidence of subsequent strokes.][ He was a founder of Massachusetts General Hospital Stroke Service.] He contributed greatly towards the current use of anticoagulants for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation.[
He contributed greatly to the understanding of stroke, more specifically carotid artery disease][ and lacunar infarcts and their syndromes. With regard to the lacunar syndromes he described the concept,] the "pure motor stroke", the "pure sensory stroke", and the mechanism underlying the different stroke syndromes.
He made a number of contributions to the understanding of cervical artery dissection (carotid artery dissection
Carotid artery dissection is a separation of the layers of the artery wall supplying oxygen-bearing blood to the head and brain and is the most common cause of stroke in young adults. (Dissection is a blister-like de-lamination between the oute ...
and vertebral artery dissection
Vertebral artery dissection (VAD) is a flap-like tear of the inner lining of the vertebral artery, which is located in the neck and supplies blood to the brain. After the tear, blood enters the arterial wall and forms a blood clot, thickening t ...
) in the 1970s,[ and that of subarachnoid hemorrhage due to ]cerebral aneurysm
An intracranial aneurysm, also known as a brain aneurysm, is a cerebrovascular disorder in which weakness in the wall of a cerebral artery or vein causes a localized dilation or ballooning of the blood vessel.
Aneurysms in the posterior circula ...
s.[
In 1956, he reported a variant 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 ...
, nowadays known as Miller Fisher Syndrome.
The "Fisher test" is also used to describe the CSF tap test which may be required in the diagnosis of normal pressure hydrocephalus
Normal-pressure hydrocephalus (NPH), also called malresorptive hydrocephalus, is a form of communicating hydrocephalus in which excess cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) occurs in the ventricles, and with normal or slightly elevated cerebrospinal fluid p ...
.
Personal life
C. Miller Fisher was married to Doris M. Fisher for 68 years until her death in 2008. He had two sons and one daughter.
Awards and honors
In 1952 he was the recipient of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada's Prize in Medicine, and in 1998 he entered the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame.
Death
Fisher died April 14, 2012 in St. Peter's Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Albany, New York. He was 98 years old.
References
External links
*
C. Miller Fisher Papers, 1827-2004 (inclusive). H MS c230. Harvard Medical Library, Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Boston, Mass.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fisher, C. Miller
Canadian expatriates in the United States
Canadian neurologists
University of Toronto alumni
1913 births
2012 deaths
People from Waterloo, Ontario