Sven Halvar Löfgren (1 March 1910 – 16 June 1978) was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

pulmonologist Pulmonology (, , from Latin ''pulmō, -ōnis'' "lung" and the Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language fam ...

known for describing

Löfgren syndrome Löfgren syndrome is a type of acute sarcoidosis, an inflammatory disorder characterized by swollen lymph nodes in the chest, tender red nodules on the shins, fever and arthritis. It is more common in women than men, and is more frequent in those o ...

, a form of

sarcoidosis Sarcoidosis (; also known as Besnier–Boeck–Schaumann disease) is a disease involving abnormal collections of White blood cell, inflammatory cells that form lumps known as granulomata. The disease usually begins in the lungs, skin, or lymph n ...

.Sven H Löfgren
, '' Svenskt biografiskt lexikon'' (article by Lars Öberg), retrieved 2018-02-04.

Early life, education and career

Löfgren was born in 1910 in

Ulricehamn Ulricehamn is a locality and the seat of Ulricehamn Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden, with 9,787 inhabitants in 2010. History Ulricehamn, originally known as ''Bogesund'', has been populated at least since the Middle Ages. The town ...

Västra Götaland County Västra Götaland County () is a county or '' län'' on the western coast of Sweden. The county is the second most populous of Sweden's counties and it comprises 49 municipalities (''kommuner''). Its population of 1,616,000 amounts to 17% of S ...

, Sweden, to Sven August Löfgren and Hilma Ottilia Eliasson. Löfgren graduated with a bachelor's degree in medicine in 1931 and a licentiate degree in medicine in 1936 at

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 ...

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, where he obtained his doctorate in 1946. From 1936, Löfgren worked mainly at

Saint Göran Hospital Saint Göran Hospital ( Swedish: ''Sankt Görans sjukhus'') is a private hospital in Stockholm, Sweden. It is located on Kungsholmen, a small island in the lake Mälaren in the city center. St. Göran is one of Sweden's oldest hospitals. It was m ...

in Stockholm, where he became senior physician at the pulmonary clinic in 1957. He became interested early on in the mysterious disease ''morbus Schaumann'', now known as

. In his thesis, he showed that

erythema nodosum Erythema nodosum (EN) is an inflammatory condition characterized by inflammation of subcutaneous fat tissue, resulting in painful red/blue lumps or nodules that are usually seen symmetrically on both shins, on the thighs, arms, and elsewhere. I ...

, which had always implied

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

in the past, was also present in sarcoidosis. Together with Holger Lundbeck, in 1946 the two described what came to be known internationally as Lofgren's syndrome. Löfgren described how erythema nodosum, enlarged lymph nodes on the root of the lung (called hilar

lymphadenopathy Lymphadenopathy or adenopathy is a disease of the lymph nodes, in which they are abnormal in size or consistency. Lymphadenopathy of an inflammatory type (the most common type) is lymphadenitis, producing swollen or enlarged lymph nodes. In c ...

) and extinguished

tuberculin Tuberculin, also known as purified protein derivative, is a combination of proteins that are used in the diagnosis of tuberculosis. This use is referred to as the tuberculin skin test and is recommended only for those at high risk. Reliable adm ...

tests were symptoms of an acute but often transient form of sarcoidosis. He became a rallying name at symposia and congresses and, in 1958, helped found the International Sarcoidosis Committee. Löfgren was honored in 1971 with a professorship for his scientific contributions.

Personal life

Löfgren was said to be shy. He was the brother of engineer . In 1935 he married physician Märta Elisabet Ollén; the couple had four children: Halvar Olof, Folke Sven, Karin Elisabet, and Barbro Märta. Löfgren died on 16 June 1978 in Stockholm.

References

Notes

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Loefgren, Sven Halvar 1910 births 1978 deaths 20th-century Swedish physicians People from Ulricehamn Municipality Swedish pulmonologists Karolinska Institute alumni