Hans Gerhard Creutzfeldt
Encyclopedia
Hans Gerhard Creutzfeldt (June 2, 1885 – December 30, 1964) was a German
neuropathologist, who first described the Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
. He was born in Harburg upon Elbe
and died in Munich
.
, which was incorporated into Hamburg
in 1937. He fulfilled his military service in Kiel
and attended the School of Medicine of the Universities of Jena
and Rostock
, receiving his doctorate at the latter in 1909. Part of his practical training was undertaken at St. Georg - Hospital in Hamburg. After qualification he sought adventure as a ship's surgeon, voyaging the Pacific Ocean
, taking the opportunity to study local crafts, linguistics, and tropical plants.
After returning to Germany
, Creutzfeldt worked at the Neurological Institute in Frankfurt am Main, at the psychiatric-neurological clinics in Breslau, Kiel
and Berlin
, and at the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Psychiatrie in Munich
. He was habilitated
at Kiel in 1920, and in 1925 became Extraordinarius of psychiatry
and neurology
. In 1938 he was appointed professor and director of the university psychiatric and neurological division in Kiel. During his tenure as director, he managed to save almost all of his patients from being executed under the Nazi
Action T4
euthanasia
program.
Creutzfeldt was 54 years of age when the Second World War broke out. Creutzfeldt had little sympathy for the Nazi
regime and was able to save some people from death in concentration camps. During the war, bombing destroyed his home and clinic.
After the war he was director of the University of Kiel
for six months, before being dismissed by the British occupation forces. His efforts to rebuild the university caused several conflicts with the British because he wanted to allow more former army officers to study there. In 1953 he moved on to Munich
to work scientifically. He died in 1964 in Munich.
He was married to Clara Sombart, a daughter of Werner Sombart
. They have 5 children, among them Otto Detlev Creutzfeldt
and Werner Creutzfeldt (1924-2006), a renowned German Internist.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
neuropathologist, who first described the Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease or CJD is a degenerative neurological disorder that is incurable and invariably fatal. CJD is at times called a human form of mad cow disease, given that bovine spongiform encephalopathy is believed to be the cause of variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease in humans.CJD...
. He was born in Harburg upon Elbe
Harburg (quarter)
General-External links:...
and died in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
.
Biography
Hans Gerhard Creutzfeldt was born into a medical family in HarburgHarburg (quarter)
General-External links:...
, which was incorporated into Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
in 1937. He fulfilled his military service in Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
and attended the School of Medicine of the Universities of Jena
Jena
Jena is a university city in central Germany on the river Saale. It has a population of approx. 103,000 and is the second largest city in the federal state of Thuringia, after Erfurt.-History:Jena was first mentioned in an 1182 document...
and Rostock
Rostock
Rostock -Early history:In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc ; the name Rostock is derived from that designation. The Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161.Afterwards the place was settled by German traders...
, receiving his doctorate at the latter in 1909. Part of his practical training was undertaken at St. Georg - Hospital in Hamburg. After qualification he sought adventure as a ship's surgeon, voyaging the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
, taking the opportunity to study local crafts, linguistics, and tropical plants.
After returning to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Creutzfeldt worked at the Neurological Institute in Frankfurt am Main, at the psychiatric-neurological clinics in Breslau, Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
and Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, and at the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Psychiatrie in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
. He was habilitated
Habilitation
Habilitation is the highest academic qualification a scholar can achieve by his or her own pursuit in several European and Asian countries. Earned after obtaining a research doctorate, such as a PhD, habilitation requires the candidate to write a professorial thesis based on independent...
at Kiel in 1920, and in 1925 became Extraordinarius of psychiatry
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
and neurology
Neurology
Neurology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the nervous system. Specifically, it deals with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of disease involving the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems, including their coverings, blood vessels, and all effector tissue,...
. In 1938 he was appointed professor and director of the university psychiatric and neurological division in Kiel. During his tenure as director, he managed to save almost all of his patients from being executed under the Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
Action T4
Action T4
Action T4 was the name used after World War II for Nazi Germany's eugenics-based "euthanasia" program during which physicians killed thousands of people who were "judged incurably sick, by critical medical examination"...
euthanasia
Euthanasia
Euthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering....
program.
Creutzfeldt was 54 years of age when the Second World War broke out. Creutzfeldt had little sympathy for the Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
regime and was able to save some people from death in concentration camps. During the war, bombing destroyed his home and clinic.
After the war he was director of the University of Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
for six months, before being dismissed by the British occupation forces. His efforts to rebuild the university caused several conflicts with the British because he wanted to allow more former army officers to study there. In 1953 he moved on to Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
to work scientifically. He died in 1964 in Munich.
He was married to Clara Sombart, a daughter of Werner Sombart
Werner Sombart
Werner Sombart was a German economist and sociologist, the head of the “Youngest Historical School” and one of the leading Continental European social scientists during the first quarter of the 20th century....
. They have 5 children, among them Otto Detlev Creutzfeldt
Otto Detlev Creutzfeldt
Otto Detlev Creutzfeldt was a Germanphysiologist and neurologist. He is the son of Hans Gerhard Creutzfeldt and the younger brother of Werner Creutzfeldt, a professor of internal medicine.-Career:...
and Werner Creutzfeldt (1924-2006), a renowned German Internist.
See also
- Creutzfeldt-Jakob diseaseCreutzfeldt-Jakob diseaseCreutzfeldt–Jakob disease or CJD is a degenerative neurological disorder that is incurable and invariably fatal. CJD is at times called a human form of mad cow disease, given that bovine spongiform encephalopathy is believed to be the cause of variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease in humans.CJD...
, a subacute spongiform encephalopathy caused from prions involving the cerebral cortexCerebral cortexThe cerebral cortex is a sheet of neural tissue that is outermost to the cerebrum of the mammalian brain. It plays a key role in memory, attention, perceptual awareness, thought, language, and consciousness. It is constituted of up to six horizontal layers, each of which has a different...
, the basal gangliaBasal gangliaThe basal ganglia are a group of nuclei of varied origin in the brains of vertebrates that act as a cohesive functional unit. They are situated at the base of the forebrain and are strongly connected with the cerebral cortex, thalamus and other brain areas...
and the spinal cordSpinal cordThe spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular bundle of nervous tissue and support cells that extends from the brain . The brain and spinal cord together make up the central nervous system...
. - AdrenoleukodystrophyAdrenoleukodystrophyAdrenoleukodystrophy is a rare, inherited disorder that leads to progressive brain damage, failure of the adrenal glands and eventually death. ALD is a disease in a group of genetic disorders called leukodystrophies, whose chief feature is damage to myelin...
, a rare demyelination disorder also known as Siemerling-Creutzfeldt Disease causing progressive brain damage, adrenal failure, and eventually death.