Henrik Sjögren
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Henrik Samuel Conrad Sjögren (, , ; 23 July 1899,
Köping ''Köping'' was a Swedish denomination for a market town since the Middle Ages, derived from the Old Norse word '' kaupang''. The designation was officially abolished with the municipal reform of 1971, when Sweden was subdivided into the Munic ...
– 17 September 1986,
Lund Lund (, ;"Lund"
(US) and
) is a city in the provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, southern Swed ...
) was a Swedish
ophthalmologist Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...
best known for describing the
eponymous An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...
condition
Sjögren syndrome Sjögren is a Swedish surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Anders Johan Sjögren (1794–1855), Finnish linguist, historian, ethnographer and explorer * Ann Mari Sjögren, Swedish fantasy artist and illustrator * Christer Sjögren, ...
. His first experience with the syndrome was an encounter with a 49-year-old woman with arthritis and extreme dryness of the mouth and
eyes An eye is a sensory organ that allows an organism to perceive visual information. It detects light and converts it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons (neurones). It is part of an organism's visual system. In higher organisms, the ey ...
. He presented 19 similar cases for his doctoral theses in 1933 that eventually served as the basis of identifying and naming of Sjögren syndrome.


Early life and education

Sjögren was born in 1899 to Anders Conrad Johansson, a merchant, and Marta Emelie Sjögren. He attended Gymnasium in
Västerås Västerås () is a city in central Sweden on the shore of Mälaren, Lake Mälaren in the province of Västmanland, west of Stockholm. The city had a population of 127,799 at the end of 2019, out of the municipal total of 158,653, over 100,000 mo ...
before studying medicine at the
Karolinska Institute The Karolinska Institute (KI; ; sometimes known as the (Royal) Caroline Institute in English) is a research-led medical university in Solna within the Stockholm urban area of Sweden and one of the foremost medical research institutes globally ...
, graduating in 1922. He completed qualifications as a physician in 1927. He married his classmate Maria Hellgren, the daughter of a prominent ophthalmologist, in 1928.


Career

Sjögren was working as an ophthalmologist at Serafimerlasarettet in Stockholm when he encountered a 49-year-old woman with
arthritis Arthritis is a general medical term used to describe a disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, Joint effusion, swelling, and decreased range of motion of ...
,
dry mouth Xerostomia, also known as dry mouth, is a subjective complaint of dryness in the mouth, which may be associated with a change in the composition of saliva, reduced salivary flow, or have no identifiable cause. This symptom is very common and is o ...
and
dry eyes Dry eye syndrome, also known as keratoconjunctivitis sicca, is the condition of having dry eyes. Symptoms include dryness in the eye, irritation, redness, discharge, blurred vision, and easily fatigued eyes. Symptoms range from mild and occa ...
. He recognised this case as being similar to others he had seen and in 1930 he published a
case series A case series (also known as a clinical series) is a type of medical research study that tracks subjects with a known exposure, such as patients who have received a similar treatment, or examines their medical records for exposure and outcome. Case ...
in the
Swedish Medical Association The Swedish Medical Association (SMA) is the union and professional organization for medical doctors and medical students in Sweden. In the main, it deploys activities on behalf the Swedish doctors' employment conditions, ethics, working environm ...
's journal. By 1933, at which stage he had moved to Sabbatsberg Hospital, he had collected a total of 19 cases of what he then called "sicca syndrome", and presented these in a doctoral dissertation written in German, titled "Zur Kenntnis der Keratoconjunctivitis Sicca" (English: "On knowledge of keratoconjunctivitis sicca"). His thesis was graded poorly, restricting him from receiving the
docent The term "docent" is derived from the Latin word , which is the third-person plural present active indicative of ('to teach, to lecture'). Becoming a docent is often referred to as habilitation or doctor of science and is an academic qualifi ...
title or position, and he was therefore unable to pursue a career in academia. In 1935, Sjögren was invited to establish an ophthalmology department at a hospital in
Jönköping Jönköping (, ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city in southern Sweden with 112,766 inhabitants (2022). Jönköping is situated on the southern shore of Sweden's second largest lake, Vättern, in the province of Småland. The city is the seat o ...
, where his wife Maria also ran a private ophthalmology practice. This made Jönköping the first country town in Sweden with an ophthalmology department. By 1936, interest in the condition he had described was growing and a Hungarian ophthalmologist proposed naming it "Sjögren syndrome". Australian ophthalmologist Bruce Hamilton contacted Sjögren in 1940 requesting permission to translate his thesis into English, which was published in 1943 and led to further international interest in the condition. Sjögren performed the first European
corneal transplantation Corneal transplantation, also known as corneal grafting, is a surgical procedure where a damaged or diseased cornea is replaced by donated corneal tissue (the graft). When the entire cornea is replaced it is known as penetrating keratoplasty a ...
in 1957, the same year that the
University of Gothenburg The University of Gothenburg () is a List of universities in Sweden, university in Sweden's second largest city, Gothenburg. Founded in 1891, the university is the third-oldest of the current List of universities in Sweden#Public universities, S ...
awarded him the title of docent. In 1961, he was recognised by the Swedish government as a professor, a rare appointment, in recognition of his contributions to medicine.


Later life

Sjögren retired from clinical work in 1967 and subsequently moved to Lund with his wife Marie. He lived in a nursing home following a
stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...
, where he died on 17 September 1986. Just a few months before his death, the inaugural International Symposium on Sjögren Syndrome was held in Copenhagen; he was invited to attend but instead sent a video explaining his absence due to health reasons.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sjogren, Henrik 1899 births 1986 deaths Swedish ophthalmologists Karolinska Institute alumni 20th-century Swedish physicians People from Köping, Sweden