Helge Stormorken
Encyclopedia
Helge Stormorken is a Norwegian veterinarian
Veterinarian
A veterinary physician, colloquially called a vet, shortened from veterinarian or veterinary surgeon , is a professional who treats disease, disorder and injury in animals....

.

Research and organisational activity

He established the cause of a world wide fatal bleeding disease in piglets leading to its eradication. He described the multifaceted Stormorken syndrome, a mutation
Mutation
In molecular biology and genetics, mutations are changes in a genomic sequence: the DNA sequence of a cell's genome or the DNA or RNA sequence of a virus. They can be defined as sudden and spontaneous changes in the cell. Mutations are caused by radiation, viruses, transposons and mutagenic...

s in f. VII, f. IX, Fibrinogen
Fibrinogen
Fibrinogen is a soluble plasma glycoprotein, synthesised by the liver, that is converted by thrombin into fibrin during blood coagulation. This is achieved through processes in the coagulation cascade that activate the zymogen prothrombin to the serine protease thrombin, which is responsible for...

 Oslo IV and V, all with clinical consequences. Nearly thirty theses on different aspects emanated from the institute together with a host of single papers from its own staff and the many US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

an visitors. The most prominent of these was Holm Holmsen who made basic discoveries establishing platelet
Platelet
Platelets, or thrombocytes , are small,irregularly shaped clear cell fragments , 2–3 µm in diameter, which are derived from fragmentation of precursor megakaryocytes.  The average lifespan of a platelet is normally just 5 to 9 days...

s as secretory non nucleated cells.
Stormorken was active in international organisations within the field, e.g. as wise/chairman of Internat Soc Thrombos Haemost 1978-82, cofounder and member of the governing board in Europ Thromb Res Org (ETRO) 1972-78, honorary member 1997. That Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...

, and the institute, was chosen as the site for the first international congress in the field (1971) was a great honour for a country of only four million people.

Furthermore, Stormorken was chairman of a long series of committees, local as well as international, teacher of medical students and other health personnel, headed the Norwegian Red Cross
Norwegian Red Cross
The Norwegian Red Cross was founded September 22, 1865 by prime minister Frederik Stang. In 1907 the Norwegian Ministry of Defence authorized the organization for voluntary medical aid in war...

 team and was wounded in the French-Algerian war in 1962. His publication list, mainly international, counts 260. Now retired he writes historical essays from his birthplace.

Career summary

He graduated with the cand.med.vet. and obtained his degree at the Veterinary College of Norway in 1948. He opened a veterinary practice in Otta
Otta
Otta may refer to:* A preliminary name of the yotta SI unit prefix.* In Norse mythology, Hildisvini, also known as "Otta the Simple", who was Freya's lover.* Otta, Norway, a Norwegian town in Gudbrandsdal.* The Otta River in Norway....

 the next year.[1] He studied in the Medical Faculty, University of Oslo
University of Oslo
The University of Oslo , formerly The Royal Frederick University , is the oldest and largest university in Norway, situated in the Norwegian capital of Oslo. The university was founded in 1811 and was modelled after the recently established University of Berlin...

 from 1954, gained PhD 1957 with the thesis Comparative Studies on Clotting Mechanisms in Horse, Cow, Dog and Man. He later won the dr.med. degree in 1958. He was appointed as a professor of animal physiology at the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science
Norwegian School of Veterinary Science
Norwegian School of Veterinary Science or NVH is a public university located at Adamstuen in Oslo, that educates veterinarians and veterinary nurses as well as research within aquatic medicine, food safety, comparative medicine and mammalian diseases, health and welfare. The institution has about...

 in 1959, and moved to the University of Oslo in 1963 as professor and head of the Oslo University Institute for Thrombosis Research at Rikshospitalet. Then, from 1980 to 1990 he was an assistant professor at Rikshospitalet
Rikshospitalet
Rikshospitalet is located in Oslo, Norway. From January 1, 2009, the hospital is part of Oslo University Hospital....

, and from 1990 to 1995 he worked for the private company Nycomed
Nycomed
Nycomed is a European pharmaceutical company. Nycomed is privately owned primarily by the two private equity investors Nordic Capital and CSFB Alternative Capital. Production is located in Norway, Denmark, Poland, Austria, Belgium, Germany, Estonia India, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina. Head office...

[2], mainly within contrast media
Contrast medium
A medical contrast medium is a substance used to enhance the contrast of structures or fluids within the body in medical imaging...

 development. By the time of his 85th birthday he had 275 academic publications under his belt.[2]

He is decorated with the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav[1], one of the founders and honorary member of European Thrombosis Research Organization, Co- and Chairman Int. Soc. Thromb. Haemost. 1978-82, and was member of several national and international committees. He was visiting professor at Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...

 winner C. Heymans Institute in Ghent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...

, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 and at The Temple University
Temple University
Temple University is a comprehensive public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Originally founded in 1884 by Dr. Russell Conwell, Temple University is among the nation's largest providers of professional education and prepares the largest body of professional...

, Philadelphia. In 1962 he headed the Norwegian Red Cross team to Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...

 during the liberation war from France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 and was wounded in the lower back but recovered. He lives in Sandvika
Sandvika
is the administrative centre of the municipality of Bærum in Norway. It was declared a city by the municipal council in Bærum on 4 June 2003.Sandvika is situated approximately west of Oslo. It is the main transportation hub for Western Bærum, and has a combined bus and railway station. Sandvika is...

, suburb to Oslo, but originates from Gudbrandsdal Valley.

Literature

  • Special issue in honour of professor Helge Stormorken. Thrombosis Research 1992;67 (3):277-344
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