Julius Wagner-Jauregg (; 7 March 1857 – 27 September 1940) was an Austrian

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

, who won the

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, accord ...

in 1927, and is the first psychiatrist to have done so. His Nobel award was "for his discovery of the therapeutic value of malaria inoculation in the treatment of

dementia paralytica General paresis, also known as general paralysis of the insane (GPI), paralytic dementia, or syphilitic paresis is a severe neuropsychiatry, neuropsychiatric disorder, classified as an organic mental disorders, organic mental disorder and is c ...

Early life

Ritter Wagner von Jauregg (1883) – Gerd Hruška

Julius Wagner-Jauregg was born Julius Wagner on 7 March 1857 in

Wels Wels (; Central Bavarian: ''Wös'') is a city in Upper Austria, on the Traun River near Linz. It is the county seat of Wels-Land, and with a population of approximately 60,000, the eighth largest city in Austria. Geography Wels is in the H ...

Upper Austria Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, a ...

, the son of Adolph Johann Wagner and Ludovika Jauernigg Ranzoni."Physiology or medicine, 1922-1941"
Jan Lindsten. World Scientific, 1999. p. 170. , . His family name was changed to "Wagner von Jauregg" when his father was given the title of "

Ritter Ritter (German for "knight") is a designation used as a title of nobility in German-speaking areas. Traditionally it denotes the second-lowest rank within the nobility, standing above "Edler" and below "Freiherr" (Baron). As with most titles an ...

von Jauregg" (a hereditary title of nobility) in 1883 by the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Hence he retained the name Julius Wagner Ritter von Jauregg until 1918 when the empire was dissolved, and nobility was abolished. The family name was then contracted to "Wagner-Jauregg". He attended the

Schottengymnasium Schottengymnasium (officially the Öffentliches Schottengymnasium der Benediktiner in Wien) is an independent Catholic gymnasium with public status in the First District of Vienna. The school was founded in 1807 by imperial decree, and is consi ...

in Vienna before going on to study

Medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...

at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histor ...

from 1874 to 1880, where he also studied with

Salomon Stricker Salomon Stricker (1 January 1834 – 2 April 1898) was an Austrian pathologist and histologist. Career Stricker was born in Waag-Neustadtl (Hungarian: Vágújhely, now Nové Mesto nad Váhom in Slovakia). He studied at the University of Vienna, ...

in the Institute of General and Experimental Pathology. He obtained his doctorate in 1880 with the thesis "L'origine et la fonction du cœur accéléré." He left the institute in 1882.

Later years

After leaving the clinic, he conducted laboratory experiments with animals, which was practiced very little at this time. From 1883 to 1887 he worked with

Maximilian Leidesdorf Maximilian Leidesdorf (27 June 1818 – 9 October 1889) was an Austrian psychiatrist born in Vienna. He was the son of the composer Maximilian Joseph Leidesdorf. In 1845 he received his medical doctorate from the University of Vienna, after ...

in the Psychiatric Clinic, although his original training was not in the pathology of the nervous system. In 1889 he succeeded the famous

Richard von Krafft-Ebing Richard Freiherr von Krafft-Ebing (full name Richard Fridolin Joseph Freiherr Krafft von Festenberg auf Frohnberg, genannt von Ebing; 14 August 1840 – 22 December 1902) was a German psychiatrist and author of the foundational work ''Psychopathi ...

at the Neuro-Psychiatric Clinic of the

University of Graz The University of Graz (german: link=no, Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, ), located in Graz, Austria, is the largest and oldest university in Styria, as well as the second-largest and second-oldest university in Austria. History The unive ...

, and started his research on

Goitre A goitre, or goiter, is a swelling in the neck resulting from an enlarged thyroid gland. A goitre can be associated with a thyroid that is not functioning properly. Worldwide, over 90% of goitre cases are caused by iodine deficiency. The term is ...

cretinism Congenital iodine deficiency syndrome is a medical condition present at birth marked by impaired physical and mental development, due to insufficient thyroid hormone (hypothyroidism) often caused by insufficient dietary iodine during pregnancy. It ...

and

iodine Iodine is a chemical element with the symbol I and atomic number 53. The heaviest of the stable halogens, it exists as a semi-lustrous, non-metallic solid at standard conditions that melts to form a deep violet liquid at , and boils to a vi ...

. In 1893 he became Extraordinary Professor of Psychiatry and Nervous Diseases, and Director of the Clinic for Psychiatry and Nervous Diseases in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, as successor to

Theodor Meynert Theodor Hermann Meynert (15 June 1833 – 31 May 1892) was a German-Austrian psychiatrist, neuropathologist and anatomist born in Dresden. Meynert believed that disturbances in brain development could be a predisposition for psychiatric illness a ...

. A student and assistant of Wagner-Jauregg during this time was

Constantin von Economo Constantin Freiherr von Economo ( gr, Κωνσταντίνος Οικονόμου; 21 August 1876 – 21 October 1931) was an Austrian psychiatrist and neurologist of Greek descent, born in modern-day Romania (then Ottoman Empire). He is mos ...

. Ten years later, in 1902, Wagner-Jauregg moved to the psychiatric clinic at the General Hospital and in 1911 he returned to his former post. In 1935, he was awarded the Cameron Prize for Therapeutics of the University of Edinburgh.

Nobel prize

The main work pursued by Wagner-Jauregg throughout his life was related to the treatment of

mental disease A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...

by inducing a

fever Fever, also referred to as pyrexia, is defined as having a body temperature, temperature above the human body temperature, normal range due to an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, set point. There is not a single ...

, an approach known as

pyrotherapy Pyrotherapy (artificial fever) is a method of treatment by raising the body temperature or sustaining an elevated body temperature using a fever. In general, the body temperature was maintained at 41 °C (105 °F). Many diseases were t ...

. In 1887 he investigated the effects of febrile diseases on psychoses, making use of erisipela and

tuberculin Tuberculin, also known as purified protein derivative, is a combination of proteins that are used in the diagnosis of tuberculosis. This use is referred to as the tuberculin skin test and is recommended only for those at high risk. Reliable admi ...

(discovered in 1890 by

Robert Koch Heinrich Hermann Robert Koch ( , ; 11 December 1843 – 27 May 1910) was a German physician and microbiologist. As the discoverer of the specific causative agents of deadly infectious diseases including tuberculosis, cholera (though the Vibrio ...

). Since these methods of treatment did not work very well, he tried in 1917 the inoculation of

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

parasites, which proved to be very successful in the case of dementia paralytica (also called

general paresis of the insane General paresis, also known as general paralysis of the insane (GPI), paralytic dementia, or syphilitic paresis is a severe neuropsychiatric disorder, classified as an organic mental disorder and is caused by late-stage syphilis and the chro ...

), caused by

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 ...

, at that time a

terminal disease Terminal illness or end-stage disease is a disease that cannot be cured or adequately treated and is expected to result in the death of the patient. This term is more commonly used for progressive diseases such as cancer, dementia or advanced ...

. It had been observed that some who develop high fevers could be cured of syphilis. Thus, from 1917 to the mid 1940s, malaria induced by the least aggressive parasite,

Plasmodium vivax ''Plasmodium vivax'' is a protozoal parasite and a human pathogen. This parasite is the most frequent and widely distributed cause of recurring malaria. Although it is less virulent than ''Plasmodium falciparum'', the deadliest of the five huma ...

, was used as treatment for tertiary syphilis because it produced prolonged and high fevers (a form of pyrotherapy). This was considered an acceptable risk because the malaria could later be treated with quinine, which was available at that time. This discovery earned him the

Nobel Prize in Medicine The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, according ...

in 1927. His main publication was a book titled ''Verhütung und Behandlung der progressiven Paralyse durch Impfmalaria'' (Prevention and treatment of progressive paralysis by malaria inoculation) in the Memorial Volume of the Handbuch der experimentellen Therapie, (1931). The technique was known as

malariotherapy The malaria therapy (or malaria inoculation, and sometimes malariotherapy) is a medical procedure of treating diseases using artificial injection of malaria parasites. It is a type of pyrotherapy (or pyretotherapy) by which high fever is induced ...

; however, it was dangerous, killing about 15% of patients, so it is no longer in use.

Sex treatment for psychosis

Wagner-Jauregg administered thyroid and ovarian preparations to young psychotic patients who had experienced delayed puberty, which led to the development of their secondary sexual characteristics and diminished psychosis. Other patients were deemed

schizophrenic Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social withdra ...

because of excessive

masturbation Masturbation is the sexual stimulation of one's own genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation may involve hands, fingers, everyday objects, sex toys such as vibrators, or combinatio ...

, where Wagner-Jauregg sterilized them, resulting in an "improved" condition.

Retirement

In 1928, Wagner-Jauregg retired from his post but remained active and in good health until his death on 27 September 1940. In his retirement he published nearly 80 scientific papers. Many schools, roads and hospitals are named after him in Austria.

Nazi ideology and affiliation

Towards his last days Wagner-Jauregg was influenced by Hitler's German nationalism, and became an

anti-Semite Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

and sympathizer of Nazism. Documentary evidence indicates that he supported the

Nazi party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...

shortly after the invasion of Austria in 1938 by Germany."The Trials of Masculinity: Policing Sexual Boundaries, 1870-1930"
Angus McLaren. University of Chicago Press, 1999. , . Retrieved March 16, 2010."A historical dictionary of psychiatry"
Edward Shorter. Oxford University Press US, 2005. p. 299. , "The complete idiot's guide to understanding the brain"
Arthur Bard, Mitchell Geoffrey Bard. Alpha Books, 2002. p. 49. , .Julius Wagner-Jauregg (1857-1940), Magda Whitrow. Smith-Gordon, 1993. p. 199. , . However, a

denazification Denazification (german: link=yes, Entnazifizierung) was an Allied initiative to rid German and Austrian society, culture, press, economy, judiciary, and politics of the Nazi ideology following the Second World War. It was carried out by remov ...

commission in Austria found that his application for NSDAP membership had been refused "...on grounds of race", as his first wife Balbine Frumkin was Jewish."Vienna: a doctor's guide : 15 walking tours through Vienna's medical history"
Wolfgang Regal, Michael Nanut. Springer, 2007. p. 75. , . Wagner-Jauregg advocated a

racial hygiene The term racial hygiene was used to describe an approach to eugenics in the early 20th century, which found its most extensive implementation in Nazi Germany (Nazi eugenics). It was marked by efforts to avoid miscegenation, analogous to an animal ...

ideology called

eugenics Eugenics ( ; ) is a fringe set of beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter human gene pools by excluding people and groups judged to be inferior or ...

, influencing students such as Alexander Pilcz, who went on to author a standard handbook on racial psychiatry critical of Jews for being prone to mental illness. He was also an advocate of forced sterilization of the mentally ill and criminal, having endorsed the concept in 1935 while a member of the Austrian Anthropological Society. He was President of the Austrian League for Racial Regeneration and Heredity, which advocated sterilization for those of inferior genetics."Freud's foes: psychoanalysis, science, and resistance"
Kurt Jacobsen. Rowman & Littlefield, 2009. p. 105. 0742522636, 9780742522633.

References

External links

* including the Nobel Lecture on December 13, 1927 ''The Treatment of Dementia Paralytica by Malaria Inoculation''
Nazi past
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wagner-Jauregg, Julius 1857 births 1940 deaths People from Wels Greater German People's Party politicians Austrian knights Austrian neuroscientists Austrian psychiatrists Austrian Nobel laureates Austro-Hungarian Nobel laureates Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine Malariologists Burials at the Vienna Central Cemetery German nationalists