Arthur K. Shapiro
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Arthur K. Shapiro, M.D., (January 11, 1923 – June 3, 1995) was an American
psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...
and expert on
Tourette syndrome Tourette syndrome or Tourette's syndrome (abbreviated as TS or Tourette's) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder that begins in childhood or adolescence. It is characterized by multiple movement (motor) tics and at least one vocal (phonic) ...
. His "contributions to the understanding of Tourette syndrome completely changed the prevailing view of this disorder"; Cohen DJ, Jankovic J, Goetz CG, (eds). ''Advances in Neurology, Vol. 85, Tourette Syndrome.'' Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia, PA, 2001., pp. xvii–xviii. he has been described as "the father of modern tic disorder research" and is "revered by his colleagues as the first dean of modern Tourette syndrome researchers".


Contributions to Tourette syndrome research

Until the early 1970s, the preferred intervention for Tourette syndrome was
psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: + . is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a body of knowledge. In what might b ...
.Pagewise, Inc.
Tourette syndrome.
Accessed 29 June 2006.
Shapiro wanted to prove that Tourette's was an organic disorder, and that
psychotherapy Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of psychological methods, particularly when based on regular personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase happiness, and overcome pro ...
was not the treatment of choice. "The turning point in the diagnosis and treatment of Tourette Syndrome occurred in 1965", when Dr. Shapiro and his wife, Elaine Schlaffer Shapiro (Ph.D.), treated a patient with
haloperidol Haloperidol, sold under the brand name Haldol among others, is a typical antipsychotic medication. Haloperidol is used in the treatment of schizophrenia, tics in Tourette syndrome, mania in bipolar disorder, delirium, agitation, acute psychosi ...
(
Haldol Haloperidol, sold under the brand name Haldol among others, is a typical antipsychotic medication. Haloperidol is used in the treatment of schizophrenia, tics in Tourette syndrome, mania in bipolar disorder, delirium, agitation, acute psychosi ...
). The Shapiros reported the treatment in a 1968 article, published by the ''
British Journal of Psychiatry The ''British Journal of Psychiatry'' is a peer-reviewed medical journal covering all branches of psychiatry with a particular emphasis on the clinical aspects of each topic. The journal is owned by the Royal College of Psychiatrists and publis ...
'', after it was rejected by American journals. The paper "severely criticized" the psychoanalytic approach, which had endured throughout the previous century, to treating the condition. Working with the New York patient families who founded the Tourette Syndrome Association (TSA, since renamed to TAA) in 1972, the Shapiros advanced the argument that Tourette's was
neurological 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 ...
rather than psychological, and the medical view of Tourette syndrome was "freed from its century-long submission to discredited psychoanalytic theory". In 1978, the Shapiros published a "landmark book" on the disorder, ''Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome''. In 1981, Shapiro was chosen honorary co-president of the First International Tourette Syndrome Symposium, held in New York. Since the 1990s, a more neutral view of Tourette's is emergingBlack, KJ
Tourette Syndrome and Other Tic Disorders.
''eMedicine'' (March 22, 2006). Accessed 27 June 2006.
as a condition involving an interaction between biological vulnerability and adverse environmental events.Leckman JF, Cohen DJ. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1999, p. vii. A colleague, psychiatrist Ruth Bruun, described Arthur Shapiro as a revolutionary, "willing to challenge the prevailing dogma", "dynamic, charming, and relentlessly stubborn when fighting for what he thought was right", "an engaging speaker", and "a man of diverse interests and enthusiasm". Bruun also said, "It is extremely unusual for a couple of researchers to completely change the prevailing view of a disease, but this is exactly what they did."


Personal life

Shapiro was born in Brooklyn, New York, and lived in Scarsdale, New York at the time of his death. He graduated in 1951 from
City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...
, obtained an MD in 1955 from the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
, was director of the Special Studies Laboratory at
Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
until 1977, and was a physician at
Mount Sinai School of Medicine The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS or Mount Sinai), formerly the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, is a private medical school in New York City. It is the academic teaching arm of the Mount Sinai Health System, which manages eigh ...
. Shapiro was a collector of medical antiquities. The Shapiros were married for 46 years, and "were obviously devoted to each other". After Arthur's death from
lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...
at the age of 72, Elaine published their last joint effort, ''The Powerful Placebo: From Ancient Priest to Modern Physician''. Shapiro was survived by his wife, Elaine Schlaffer Shapiro, three children, a brother, and three grandchildren.


Publications

*Shapiro, Arthur K., Shapiro, Elaine, Gerald Young, J., et al. (January 1988). ''Gilles De La Tourette Syndrome.'' Raven Press Ltd; 2nd edition. *Shapiro, Arthur K., Shapiro, Elaine (October 17, 2000). ''The Powerful Placebo : From Ancient Priest to Modern Physician''. The Johns Hopkins University Press; New Ed edition. * * * *


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shapiro, Arthur K. 1923 births 1995 deaths American psychiatrists Tourette syndrome City College of New York alumni Pritzker School of Medicine alumni Cornell University faculty