Patrick Lucey McGeer (June 29, 1927 – August 29, 2022) was a Canadian physician, professor and medical researcher. He was regarded as a leading authority on the causes and prevention of

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

and was the principal author of the inflammatory hypothesis of the disease, which holds that Alzheimer's is an inflammation of the cortex. He was also a Canadian

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player who competed in the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

, a politician who represented the constituency of Vancouver-Point Grey in the

British Columbia legislature The Parliament of British Columbia is made of two elements: the King in Right of British Columbia, represented by the Lieutenant Governor, and the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia (which meets at the British Columbia Parliament Building ...

from 1962 to 1986, and a member of the British Columbia cabinet from 1976 to 1986. In 1995, he and his wife Edith were inducted as Officers of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

. In 2002 they were jointly inducted as Fellows of the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bil ...

, and in 2005 they were jointly inducted into the

Order of British Columbia The Order of British Columbia (french: Ordre de la Colombie-Britannique) is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Instituted in 1989 by Lieutenant Governor David Lam, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier B ...

. McGeer died at his home in Vancouver on August 29, 2022 at the age of 95.

Aurin Biotech

In August 2012, McGeer and his wife Edith founded Aurin Biotech Inc., following indications that the

Aurintricarboxylic acid Aurintricarboxylic acid (ATA) is a chemical compound that readily polymerizes in aqueous solution, forming a stable free radical that inhibits protein-nucleic acid interactions. It is a potent inhibitor of ribonuclease and topoisomerase II by prev ...

(ATA) complex inhibit activation of the

Complement system The complement system, also known as complement cascade, is a part of the immune system that enhances (complements) the ability of antibodies and phagocytic cells to clear microbes and damaged cells from an organism, promote inflammation, and at ...

. Since activation of the complement system is implicated in a number of diseases (see Complement system#Role in disease), these indications suggested that ATA could be an effective treatment for these diseases. Aurin was founded to explore the efficacy of using ATA and related compounds in the treatment of these diseases. The particular focus is on diseases that are caused or exacerbated by aberrant complement activation. Low molecular weight components of the

aurintricarboxylic acid Aurintricarboxylic acid (ATA) is a chemical compound that readily polymerizes in aqueous solution, forming a stable free radical that inhibits protein-nucleic acid interactions. It is a potent inhibitor of ribonuclease and topoisomerase II by prev ...

complex have been shown to be non-toxic and orally effective.

References

External links

Canadian Olympic Assn. profile (olympic.ca)

UBC Sports Hall of Fame Inductee page

2005 Recipients: Doctors Patrick & Edith McGeer
- Order of British Columbia * {{DEFAULTSORT:McGeer, Pat 1927 births 2022 deaths Basketball players at the 1948 Summer Olympics Basketball people from British Columbia British Columbia Liberal Party MLAs British Columbia Social Credit Party MLAs Canadian expatriates in the United States Canadian men's basketball players Canadian neurologists Canadian people of Irish descent Canadian sportsperson-politicians Canadian neuroscientists Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Leaders of the British Columbia Liberal Party Members of the Executive Council of British Columbia Members of the Order of British Columbia Officers of the Order of Canada Olympic basketball players of Canada Politicians from Vancouver Princeton University alumni Basketball players from Vancouver UBC Thunderbirds basketball players University of British Columbia faculty