William Henry Beierwaltes ( – August 14, 2005) was an American physician who was a pioneer in the use of

nuclear medicine Nuclear medicine or nucleology is a medical specialty involving the application of radioactive substances in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. Nuclear imaging, in a sense, is " radiology done inside out" because it records radiation emi ...

. Beierwaltes building on the established work of Dr.

Saul Hertz Saul Hertz, M.D. (April 20, 1905 – July 28, 1950) was an American physician who devised the medical uses of radioactive iodine. Hertz pioneered the first targeted cancer therapies. Hertz is called the father of the field of theranostics, combini ...

, developed innovations in the use of

iodine-131 Iodine-131 (131I, I-131) is an important radioisotope of iodine discovered by Glenn Seaborg and John Livingood in 1938 at the University of California, Berkeley. It has a radioactive decay half-life of about eight days. It is associated with nu ...

and in surgery in treating

thyroid cancer Thyroid cancer is cancer that develops from the tissues of the thyroid gland. It is a disease in which cells grow abnormally and have the potential to spread to other parts of the body. Symptoms can include swelling or a lump in the neck. C ...

, in establishing a university training program in nuclear medicine and in the use of radiolabeled antibodies to detect cancer.Staff
"IN MEMORIAM: William H. Beierwaltes, MD, 1916-2005"
''

The Journal of Nuclear Medicine ''The Journal of Nuclear Medicine'' is a monthly Peer review, peer-reviewed medical journal published by Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging that covers research on all aspects of nuclear medicine, including molecular imaging. Abstr ...

'', October 2005. Accessed November 10, 2008.

Early years and education

Beierwaltes grew up in

Saginaw, Michigan Saginaw () is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw and Saginaw County are both in the area known as Mid-Michigan. Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of Greater ...

. He spent the vast majority of his career at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, earning a bachelor's degree there in 1938, his medical degree in 1941 and completed his

residency Residency may refer to: * Domicile (law), the act of establishing or maintaining a residence in a given place ** Permanent residency, indefinite residence within a country despite not having citizenship * Residency (medicine), a stage of postgra ...

as an

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 ...

in 1945. He developed a lifelong focus on thyroid cancer after performing an autopsy in his third year of medical school on a patient who had died from the disease. One of his few times away from the University of Michigan was for an

internship An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, internship is used practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and gover ...

and residency at Cleveland City Hospital, where one of his assignments was a study of the use of an antithyroid drug in treatment of

hyperthyroidism Hyperthyroidism is the condition that occurs due to excessive production of thyroid hormones by the thyroid gland. Thyrotoxicosis is the condition that occurs due to excessive thyroid hormone of any cause and therefore includes hyperthyroidis ...

. After joining the faculty of the

University of Michigan Medical School Michigan Medicine (University of Michigan Health System or UMHS before 2017) is the wholly owned academic medical center of the University of Michigan, a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Michigan Medicine includes the Univers ...

in 1945, he started to become involved in the growing field of nuclear medicine.

Career and research

Beierwaltes was one of five doctors present at the first course teaching doctors how to use radioactive iodine for medical purposes, which was offered by the Atomic Energy Commission at its facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. He spent his career seeking methods to identify and treat cancer using

radioisotopes A radionuclide (radioactive nuclide, radioisotope or radioactive isotope) is a nuclide that has excess nuclear energy, making it unstable. This excess energy can be used in one of three ways: emitted from the nucleus as gamma radiation; transferr ...

. Early in his career, he established a clinic in which radioactive iodine was used to help diagnose and detect tumors in patients with

and thyroid cancer. He became an advocate for a therapy that combined radioiodine and surgery, which has been accepted by the medical profession as the standard regimen for diagnosis and treatment of thyroid conditions. He was named in 1952 as head of the Clinical Radioisotope Service at the University of Michigan. Beierwaltes wrote ''Clinical Use of Radioisotopes'', published in 1957, which was one of the first books published in the field. When it was established in the early 1960s, Beierwaltes was promoted to chief of the Nuclear Medicine Division and helped form the nuclear medicine

fellowship A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

at the University of Michigan, one of the first such programs in the United States. Results of a study Beierwaltes reported in 1950 showed that he was able to use x-rays to prevent blindness in eight of eleven patients with a form of the disease

exophthalmos Exophthalmos (also called exophthalmus, exophthalmia, proptosis, or exorbitism) is a bulging of the eye anteriorly out of the orbit. Exophthalmos can be either bilateral (as is often seen in Graves' disease) or unilateral (as is often seen in ...

. The

pituitary gland In vertebrate anatomy, the pituitary gland, or hypophysis, is an endocrine gland, about the size of a chickpea and weighing, on average, in humans. It is a protrusion off the bottom of the hypothalamus at the base of the brain. The ...

s of these patients were believed to have been producing excessive amounts of

thyroid-stimulating hormone Thyroid-stimulating hormone (also known as thyrotropin, thyrotropic hormone, or abbreviated TSH) is a pituitary hormone that stimulates the thyroid gland to produce thyroxine (T4), and then triiodothyronine (T3) which stimulates the metabolism ...

which caused swelling in the eyesocket that could compress the

optic nerve In neuroanatomy, the optic nerve, also known as the second cranial nerve, cranial nerve II, or simply CN II, is a paired cranial nerve that transmits visual information from the retina to the brain. In humans, the optic nerve is derived fro ...

ophthalmic artery The ophthalmic artery (OA) is an artery of the head. It is the first branch of the internal carotid artery distal to the cavernous sinus. Branches of the ophthalmic artery supply all the structures in the orbit around the eye, as well as some s ...

leading to blindness. By x-raying the pituitary gland, the swelling was reduced. Three years after treatment patients had gained an average of 13 pounds and their eyes had receded an average of one-fifth of an inch.Staff
"NOTES ON SCIENCE; Atomic Radiation and the Human Race--X-Rays to Save Sight MONSTERS--"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', December 17, 1950. Accessed November 10, 2008. Beierwaltes retired from the University of Michigan at age 70 and moved to Grosse Pointe, Michigan, where he continued work at the local St. John Hospital and at

William Beaumont Hospital Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak (BHRO) is a nationally ranked, 1131 bed non-profit, acute care teaching hospital located in Royal Oak, Michigan, providing tertiary care and healthcare services to the Royal Oak region and Metro Detroit. Beaumont Hospi ...

Royal Oak, Michigan Royal Oak is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An inner-ring suburb of Detroit, Royal Oak is about north of Detroit's city limits. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 57,236. Royal Oak is located along t ...

. He "finally and unequivocally" retired from clinical work on August 31, 1994.

Legacy

Beierwaltes developed the concept of combining radioactive iodine with the hormone-like

Iobenguane Iobenguane, or MIBG, is an aralkylguanidine analog of the adrenergic neurotransmitter norepinephrine (noradrenaline), typically used as a radiopharmaceutical. It acts as a blocking agent for adrenergic neurons. When radiolabeled, it can be used ...

, so that the radioactivity could be detected when the substance traveled to cells in the

adrenal gland The adrenal glands (also known as suprarenal glands) are endocrine glands that produce a variety of hormones including adrenaline and the steroids aldosterone and cortisol. They are found above the kidneys. Each gland has an outer cortex whic ...

and related tissues. Beierwaltes is co-holder of the patent on Iobenguane, which he developed in the 1970s to allow for imaging of the adrenal gland. He was awarded the Scientific Achievement Award, the highest honor given by the

American Medical Association The American Medical Association (AMA) is a professional association and lobbying group of physicians and medical students. Founded in 1847, it is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Membership was approximately 240,000 in 2016. The AMA's sta ...

, for his contributions to the medical profession as a clinician, teacher, and investigator.

Personal life

Beierwaltes died at age 88 on August 14, 2005, in his home in Petoskey, Michigan, of natural causes.KEG
"William Beierwaltes, Nuclear Medicine Pioneer, Dies at 88"
''Medicine at Michigan'', Fall 2005. Accessed November 10, 2008.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beierwaltes, William Henry 1910s births 2005 deaths American nuclear medicine physicians People from Petoskey, Michigan People from Saginaw, Michigan University of Michigan Medical School alumni University of Michigan faculty