Lisa Welander (9 August 1909 - 9 December 2001) was a Swedish

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 ...

, and was Sweden's first professor of neurology, taking up her professorship at

Umeå University Umeå University ( sv, Umeå universitet; Ume Sami: ) is a public research university located in Umeå, in the mid-northern region of Sweden. The university was founded in 1965 and is the fifth oldest within Sweden's present borders. As of 2015 ...

from 1964–75.

Career

Welander graduated from

Örebro University Örebro University ( sv, Örebro universitet) is a state university in Örebro, Sweden. The university has its roots in the Örebro campus of Uppsala University, which became an independent state university college in 1977, Örebro University Col ...

in 1928, and became a medical licentiate in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

in 1937. She received her

doctorate of medicine Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...

in 1952 from the

Karolinska Institute The Karolinska Institute (KI; sv, Karolinska Institutet; sometimes known as the (Royal) Caroline Institute in English) is a research-led medical university in Solna within the Stockholm urban area of Sweden. The Karolinska Institute is consist ...

and then became an associate professor of neurology there, and in 1953 at the Medical College of the

University of Gothenburg The University of Gothenburg ( sv, Göteborgs universitet) is a university in Sweden's second largest city, Gothenburg. Founded in 1891, the university is the third-oldest of the current Swedish universities and with 37,000 students and 6000 st ...

. Welander became a professor of neurology at

from 1964–75. In 1951 Welander was the first to describe the hereditary muscular disease Welander's distal myopathy, a type of

distal muscular dystrophy Distal myopathy is a group of rare genetic disorders that cause muscle damage and weakness, predominantly in the hands and/or feet. Mutation of many different genes can be causative. Many types involve dysferlin. Signs and symptoms All of the di ...

. Welander is also known for her work with Eric Kugelberg on

spinal muscular atrophy Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a rare neuromuscular disorder that results in the loss of motor neurons and progressive muscle wasting. It is usually diagnosed in infancy or early childhood and if left untreated it is the most common genetic ...

(SMA). The juvenile manifestation of the disease ''SMA type III'' is named after her and her colleague ''Kugelberg-Welander disease''.

Publications

* Welander, L. (1951). "Myopathia distalis tarda hereditaria; 249 examined cases in 72 pedigrees." ''Acta Medica Scandinavica. Supplementum.'' 265:1-124. * Kugelberg, E., Welander, L. (1956). "Heredofamilial juvenile muscular atrophy simulating muscular dystrophy". ''Archives of Neurology and Psychiatry.'' 75(5): 500-509. doi: 10.1001/archneurpsyc.1956.02330230050005 * Welander, L. (1957). "Homozygous Appearance of Distal Myopathy"
''Acta Genetica et Statistica Medica.'' 7(2): 321-325.
doi: 10.1159/000150998 * Welander, L. (1961). Genetic research in muscular diseases in Sweden. In ''Proceeding df the Second International Congress of Human, Genetics. Roma.'' 3:1629-1636.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Welander, Lisa 1909 births Swedish neurologists Women neurologists Karolinska Institute alumni Academic staff of Umeå University 2001 deaths 20th-century Swedish scientists 20th-century Swedish women