Heinrich Simon Frenkel (June 5, 1860, in

Heiden, Switzerland Heiden is a village and a municipality in the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden in Switzerland. Its Biedermeier village around the church square is listed as a heritage site of national significance. History Heiden is first mentioned in 1461 ...

– April 21, 1931, in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

- Loschwitz) was a Swiss physician and

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 ...

born in Heiden, a town overlooking Lake Constance. He was an early practitioner of neuro- rehabilitation, advocating a regimen of special exercises for patients with

neurological 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 ...

disorders.

Biography

He studied medicine at the Universities of

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

and

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

, and was a student of neurologist Wilhelm Heinrich Erb (1840–1921). In 1884 he earned his degree at

, afterwards returning to Heiden to practice medicine. At Heiden he rented a house in "Cure Park" and filled it with specialized exercise equipment. Here he established a center of physical medicine and rehabilitation, where patients with neurological impairments could reinstate dexterity and improve mobility. Frenkel achieved great success with therapeutic exercises for

cerebellar ataxia Cerebellar ataxia is a form of ataxia originating in the cerebellum. Non-progressive congenital ataxia (NPCA) is a classical presentation of cerebral ataxias. Cerebellar ataxia can occur as a result of many diseases and may present with symptom ...

and

ataxia Ataxia is a neurological sign consisting of lack of voluntary coordination of muscle movements that can include gait abnormality, speech changes, and abnormalities in eye movements. Ataxia is a clinical manifestation indicating dysfunction of ...

. This success eventually attracted patients from all parts of Europe, and even America: see

Frenkel Exercises Frenkel exercises are a set of exercises developed by Professor Heinrich Sebastian Frenkel to treat ataxia, in particular cerebellar ataxia. They are a system of exercises consisting of slow, repeated movements. They increase in difficulty over t ...

. He was visited in Heiden by Rubens Hirschberg (1862–1920), who was an assistant to French neurologist

Fulgence Raymond Fulgence Raymond (29 September 1844 – 28 September 1910) was a French neurologist born in Saint-Christophe-sur-le-Nais, Indre-et-Loire. Originally trained as a veterinarian, he later studied human medicine under Alfred Vulpian (1826–1887) in ...

(1844–1910). Hirschberg was deeply impressed with Frenkel's work with neurological disorders, and on his return to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, convinced Raymond to establish a gymnasium in the neurology department at the Salpétriére. In addition, renowned

neurosurgeon Neurosurgery or neurological surgery, known in common parlance as brain surgery, is the medical specialty concerned with the surgical treatment of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system including the brain, spinal cord and peri ...

Otfrid Foerster Otfrid Foerster (9 November 1873 – 15 June 1941) was a German neurologist and neurosurgeon, who made innovative contributions to neurology and neurosurgery, such as rhizotomy for the treatment of spasticity, anterolateral cordotomy for pain, ...

(1873–1941) was greatly influenced by Frenkel's work and spent considerable time at Heiden. In 1896 Frenkel relocated to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, where in 1913 he attained the title of professor. Here he served as head of the

serological Serology is the scientific study of serum and other body fluids. In practice, the term usually refers to the diagnostic identification of antibodies in the serum. Such antibodies are typically formed in response to an infection (against a given mic ...

department at the clinic of

psychiatry Psychiatry is the specialty (medicine), medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders. These include various maladaptations related to mood, behaviour, cognition, and perceptions. See glossary of psych ...

and neurology at Charité Hospital. He was the author of ''Die Therapie ataktischer Bewegungsstörungen'', a treatise on treatment of tabetic

by means of systematic exercise and movement therapy. His name is associated with "Frenkel's symptom", which is defined as lowered muscular tonus in tabetic

neurosyphilis Neurosyphilis refers to infection of the central nervous system in a patient with syphilis. In the era of modern antibiotics the majority of neurosyphilis cases have been reported in HIV-infected patients. Meningitis is the most common neurologic ...

. Frenkel died in Dresden, Germany and his body was brought to Heiden, Switzerland for burial. His daughter Margerita Serena, called Rita, was born in

Pallanza Pallanza is a district of the Italian ''comune'' (municipality) of Verbania. It is located in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, on the bank of Lake Maggiore. History Pallanza was autonomous until 1939 when it was merged with Intra to form ...

in 1891. In 1914 she married Wilhelm von Gonzenbach (1880–1955), a Swiss bacteriologist, and died in

Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zürich ...

in 1972.Ernst Zinn: Viva Vox, 1994
p. 306 and 313.
/ref>

References

* Zwecker M., Zeilig G., Ohry A

''Nature.com''. * ttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=15176411&dopt=Abstract NCBI: PubMed; Heinrich Frenkel

External links

* Swiss neurologists 1860 births 1931 deaths Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin People from Appenzell Ausserrhoden {{Neuroscientist-stub