Théodore-Joseph-Dieudonné Herpin (27 August 1799 – 17 July 1865) was a French and Swiss

neurologist Neurology (from , "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 nervous system, which comprises the brain, the ...

who was a native of

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

. He studied medicine at the Universities of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

, and spent most of his medical career at

.Herpin, Théodore-Joseph-Dieudonné
in the

Historical Dictionary of Switzerland The ''Historical Dictionary of Switzerland'' (Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse; DHS) is an encyclopedia on the history of Switzerland. It aims to present the history of Switzerland in the form of an encyclopaedia, published both on paper a ...

. Herpin is remembered for his extensive contributions made in the study of

epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of Non-communicable disease, non-communicable Neurological disorder, neurological disorders characterized by a tendency for recurrent, unprovoked Seizure, seizures. A seizure is a sudden burst of abnormal electrical activit ...

. He examined hundreds of epileptic patients, and noticed that all epileptic episodes, whether they be complete or incomplete, started the same way, and surmised that they originated in the same location in the

brain The brain is an organ (biology), organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head (cephalization), usually near organs for ...

. Herpin's primary focus of epileptic research was to instruct other physicians to be able to recognize and treat the condition in its early stages. His pioneer research predated

John Hughlings Jackson John Hughlings Jackson (4 April 1835 – 7 October 1911) was an English neurologist. He is best known for his research on epilepsy. Biography He was born at Providence Green, Green Hammerton, near Harrogate, Yorkshire, the youngest son of Sa ...

's (1835-1911) similar findings of the disorder. Herpin is also credited for his comprehensive description of

juvenile myoclonic epilepsy Juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME), also known as Janz syndrome or impulsive petit mal, is a form of hereditary, idiopathic generalized epilepsy, representing 5–10% of all epilepsy cases. Typically it first presents between the ages of 12 and 18 ...

Written works

* ''Du pronostic et du traitement curatif de l’épilepsie'' (1852). * ''Des accès incomplets d’épilepsie'', (published posthumously in 1867).

References

European Neurology
Théodore Herpin: Neglected Contributions in the Understanding of Epilepsy 1799 births 1865 deaths University of Paris alumni University of Geneva alumni French neurologists Swiss neurologists Physicians from Lyon {{France-med-bio-stub