Rolf Hassler (1914–1984) was a German

pathologist Pathology is the study of the causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in t ...

who made important discoveries on the pathophisiology and treatment of

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

(PD). In 1938 he published the autopsies of PD patients that showed while the striatum and globus pallidus were mostly unaffected and the main affected structure was the substantia nigra pars compacta; it lost many neurons and also held abundant

Lewy bodies Lewy bodies are the inclusion bodies – abnormal aggregations of protein – that develop inside nerve cells affected by Parkinson's disease (PD), the Lewy body dementias ( Parkinson's disease dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB)), and ...

. Such findings confirmed

Konstantin Tretiakoff Konstantin Nikolaevitch Tretiakoff (; December 26, 1892 – 1958) was a Russian neuropathologist. He was born in Fergana, Uzbekistan, as a son of military physician, who was member of Pierre Bonvalot's first Pamir expedition. He studied medicine ...

's theories, who in 1919 had reported that the substantia nigra was the main cerebral structure affected. Hassler later was the director of the Max-Planck-Institut für Hirnforschung at Frankfurt am Main where he continued his studies on PD, becoming a pioneer in surgery for tremors.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hassler, Rolf Parkinson's disease researchers German pathologists 1914 births 1984 deaths 20th-century German physicians Max Planck Institute directors