Richard Alan John Asher,
FRCP (3 April 1912 – 25 April 1969) was an eminent British
endocrinologist
Endocrinology (from ''endocrine'' + '' -ology'') is a branch of biology and medicine dealing with the endocrine system, its diseases, and its specific secretions known as hormones. It is also concerned with the integration of developmental events ...
and
haematologist
Hematology ( always spelled haematology in British English) is the branch of medicine concerned with the study of the cause, prognosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases related to blood. It involves treating diseases that affect the produc ...
.
As the senior physician responsible for the mental observation ward at the
Central Middlesex Hospital
Central Middlesex Hospital is in the centre of the Park Royal business estate, on the border of two London boroughs, Brent and Ealing. It is managed by the London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust.
History
The hospital was establish ...
he described and named
Munchausen syndrome
Factitious disorder imposed on self, also known as Munchausen syndrome, is a factitious disorder in which those affected feign or induce disease, illness, injury, abuse, or psychological trauma to draw attention, sympathy, or reassurance to t ...
in a 1951 article in ''
The Lancet
''The Lancet'' is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal and one of the oldest of its kind. It is also the world's highest-impact academic journal. It was founded in England in 1823.
The journal publishes original research articles, ...
''.
Personal life
Richard Asher was born to the Reverend Felix Asher and his wife Louise (née Stern). He married
Margaret Augusta Eliot at St Pancras' Church, London on 27 July 1943, whereupon his father-in-law gave him a complete set of the ''
Oxford English Dictionary
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...
'', which doctor and medical ethicist
Maurice Pappworth alleged was the source of Asher's "accidental" reputation as a medical
etymologist. They had three children:
Peter Asher
Peter Asher, (born 22 June 1944) is an English guitarist, singer, manager and record producer. He came to prominence in the 1960s as a member of the pop music vocal duo Peter and Gordon before going on to a successful career as a manager and r ...
(born 1944), a member of the pop duo
Peter & Gordon
Peter and Gordon were a British pop duo, composed of Peter Asher (b. 1944) and Gordon Waller (1945–2009), who achieved international fame in 1964 with their first single, the million-selling single "A World Without Love". The duo had several ...
and later record producer,
Jane Asher
Jane Asher (born 5 April 1946)The International Who's Who of Women, 3rd edition, ed. Elizabeth Sleeman, Europa Publications, 2002, p. 29 is an English actress and author. She achieved early fame as a child actress and has worked extensively in f ...
(born 1946), a film and TV actress and novelist, and Clare Asher (born 1948), a radio actress. Richard Asher's brother Thomas married Margaret's sister, Susan.
The Asher family home above his private consulting rooms at 57
Wimpole Street
Wimpole Street is a street in Marylebone, central London. Located in the City of Westminster, it is associated with private medical practice and medical associations. No. 1 Wimpole Street is an example of Edwardian baroque architecture, compl ...
was briefly notable when
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
of
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
lived there in 1964–66, at the height of "
Beatlemania
Beatlemania was the fanaticism surrounding the English rock band the Beatles in the 1960s. The group's popularity grew in the United Kingdom throughout 1963, propelled by the singles "Please Please Me", "From Me to You" and "She Loves You". By ...
", during his relationship with Jane Asher.
In 1964 Asher suddenly gave up his hospital post and perhaps all medical activities.
He suffered from depression in later life and reportedly died by suicide at the age of 57.
His death took place at 57, Wimpole Street, and he left a Will and an estate valued at £35,937.
Ideas and reputation
Asher was regarded as "one of the foremost medical thinkers of our times",
[
] who emphasised the need "to be increasingly critical of our own and other people's thinking". Asher was particularly concerned that "many clinical notions are accepted because they are comforting rather than because there is any evidence to support them".
Asher was hailed as a pioneer in challenging the value of excessive bed rest following treatment, and argued that the
Pel–Ebstein fever
Pel–Ebstein fever is a rarely seen condition noted in patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma
Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a type of lymphoma, in which cancer originates from a specific type of white blood cell called lymphocytes, where multinucleated R ...
(a fever characteristic for
Hodgkin's disease
Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a type of lymphoma, in which cancer originates from a specific type of white blood cell called lymphocytes, where multinucleated Reed–Sternberg cells (RS cells) are present in the patient's lymph nodes. The condition wa ...
) was an example of a condition that exists only because it has a name. Asher's 1949 paper "Myxoedematous Madness"
alerted a generation of physicians to the interaction between the brain and the thyroid gland. As a result, young and elderly psychiatric patients are now screened for thyroid malfunction. Some of the 'madness' cases are now thought
to be the early descriptions of
Hashimoto's encephalopathy
Hashimoto's encephalopathy, also known as steroid-responsive encephalopathy associated with autoimmune thyroiditis (SREAT), is a neurological condition characterized by encephalopathy, thyroid autoimmunity, and good clinical response to cortico ...
, a rare neuroendocrine syndrome sometimes presenting with
psychosis
Psychosis is a condition of the mind that results in difficulties determining what is real and what is not real. Symptoms may include delusions and hallucinations, among other features. Additional symptoms are incoherent speech and behavior ...
.
Notable articles
Asher is remembered today mostly for his "refreshingly provoking"
articles which "sparkle with sequins--his own aphorisms, imaginary dialogue, fantasies, quotations." He thought that medical writing should provide "useful, understandable, and practical knowledge instead of ''allotov-words-2-obscure-4-any-1,2-succidin-understanding-them''." Anthologies of his articles were well-received,
with the ''Talking Sense'' collection being described as "still the best advice on medical writing." Notable articles include:
The Dangers of Going to Bed(1947) - "one of the most influential medical papers ever written"
*The Seven Sins of Medicine (1949, in Lancet 1949 Aug 27;2(6574):358-60)
Myxoedematous Madness(1949)
*Munchausen’s syndrome (1951, in Lancet 1951 Feb 10;1(6650):339-41)
Straight and Crooked Thinking in Medicine(1954)
Respectable Hypnosis(1956)
Why Are Medical Journals So Dull?(1958)
*The ''Talking Sense'' trilogy:
Clinical Sense(1959) with a rueful correction i
The Dog in the Night-time(1960)
**Making Sense (1959, in Lancet, 1959, 2, 359)
**Talking Sense (1959, in Lancet, 1959, 2, 417)
"Seven Sins of Medicine"
The "
Seven Sins of Medicine
The Seven Sins of Medicine, by Richard Asher, are a perspective on medical ethics first published in ''The Lancet'' in 1949.''Lancet'' 1949 Aug 27;2(6574):358–60
Considered as poor personal conduct by physicians (or more typically, medical stude ...
"
is a lecture delivered by Asher and later published in ''The Lancet'', describing medical professional behaviour that is considered inappropriate. These sins are often quoted to students:
# Obscurity
# Cruelty
# Bad manners
# Over-specialisation
# Love of the rare
# Common stupidity
# Sloth
Prize in his memory
From 1995–2010 an annual prize (2010 value £1,200) in memory of Asher was awarded by the
Royal Society of Medicine
The Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) is a medical society in the United Kingdom, headquartered in London.
History
The Society was established in 1805 as Medical and Chirurgical Society of London, meeting in two rooms in barristers’ chambers ...
and the
Society of Authors
The Society of Authors (SoA) is a United Kingdom trade union for professional writers, illustrators and literary translators, founded in 1884 to protect the rights and further the interests of authors. , it represents over 12,000 members and as ...
for the best first edition textbook aimed at undergraduate students.
The most recent prize was presented to Hugo Farne, Edward Norris-Cervetto and James Warbrick-Smith for their book "Oxford Cases in Medicine and Surgery" at the
Royal Society of Medicine
The Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) is a medical society in the United Kingdom, headquartered in London.
History
The Society was established in 1805 as Medical and Chirurgical Society of London, meeting in two rooms in barristers’ chambers ...
, 27 October 2010.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Asher, Richard
1912 births
1969 suicides
20th-century English medical doctors
English medical writers
Suicides in Westminster