Joel Weisman
Encyclopedia
Joel D. Weisman was one of the first to identify a pattern of illnesses that was ultimately diagnosed as AIDS
during his work as a general practitioner
in the United States
. He later became an advocate for the development of treatments and prevention of the disease.
on February 20, 1943. He attended the Kansas City College of Osteopathy (later known as the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences
, graduating in 1970. He practiced medicine in New Jersey for several years and ended his brief marriage by disclosing that he was gay
.
and was hired by a doctor's office in North Hollywood
, where he started to see a number of patients in 1978 who had a series of unusual conditions, including younger men with shingles
, a case of Kaposi's sarcoma
, and several patients who had symptoms of what appeared to be, but was not, lymphoma
. In 1980, a series of patients came to a medical office he had opened in Sherman Oaks
, all gay men who had a pattern of what appeared to be immune system disorders exhibited by significant loss of weight and swollen lymph node
s, accompanied by fever and rashes, in addition to two patients with chronic diarrhea, depressed white blood cell counts and fungal infection
s.
Weisman referred two of these cases in 1981 to Michael S. Gottlieb
, an immunologist at the UCLA Medical Center, who had a patient of his own with a similar pattern of symptoms. Weisman recollected that he knew going into this meeting that these cases "represented was the tip of the iceberg" and that there were "a lot of people that were potentially right behind them". Gottlieb diagnosed these and a number of his other patients as having pneumocystis pneumonia
. A report they jointly wrote published by the Centers for Disease Control in the June 5, 1981, issue of its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
, describing how their patients, "5 young men, all active homosexuals, were treated for biopsy-confirmed Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia at 3 different hospitals in Los Angeles, California" of which "[t]wo of the patients died" by the time of the original report. This notice has been recognized as the first published report marking "the official start" of the AIDS pandemic
and as "the first report on AIDS in the medical literature". A more detailed report regarding the pneumocystis pneumonia found in a series of four patients was published in a December 1981 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine
.
Weisman immediately started warning his patients that the diseases was sexually transmitted and that behavioral changes were needed to help prevent its spread, a warning that was often disregarded and resulted in the deaths of many friends. He became involved in efforts to provide treatment options for AIDS patients, establishing AIDS Project Los Angeles in 1983 and developing Southern California
's first AIDS unit at the Sherman Oaks Hospital
. When amfAR
was founded in 1985 by Gottlieb and Mathilde Krim
, Weisman was a board member and became chairman from 1988 to 1992. His medical practice grew into the Pacific Oaks Medical Group, one of the largest treating patients with HIV
/ AIDS.
In Weisman's obituary in the Los Angeles Times
, Gottlieb described him as "a very astute physician" who recognized "that something out of the ordinary was happening" by being "alert to unusual symptoms in his patients". Krim described how Weisman immediately knew that "he was observing something that was never seen before."
on July 18, 2009, at his home in the Westwood
neighborhood of Los Angeles
. He was survived by his domestic partner of 17 years, Bill Hutton, as well as by a daughter and granddaughter, a brother and two nieces. Timothy Bogue, his partner for 10 years, died of AIDS in 1991.
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
during his work as a general practitioner
General practitioner
A general practitioner is a medical practitioner who treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes. They have particular skills in treating people with multiple health issues and comorbidities...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He later became an advocate for the development of treatments and prevention of the disease.
Early life and education
Weisman was born in Newark, New JerseyNewark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
on February 20, 1943. He attended the Kansas City College of Osteopathy (later known as the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences
Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences
Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences is located in Kansas City, Missouri. George J. Conley, D.O., founded the University in 1916. Today, KCUMB consists of both a College of Osteopathic Medicine and a College of Biosciences...
, graduating in 1970. He practiced medicine in New Jersey for several years and ended his brief marriage by disclosing that he was gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
.
Discovery and treatment of AIDS
He moved to Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and was hired by a doctor's office in North Hollywood
North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
North Hollywood is a district in the San Fernando Valley region of the city of Los Angeles, California, along the Tujunga Wash. It is bounded on the south by Moorpark Street and the Ventura Freeway, on the southwest by Burbank Blvd...
, where he started to see a number of patients in 1978 who had a series of unusual conditions, including younger men with shingles
Herpes zoster
Herpes zoster , commonly known as shingles and also known as zona, is a viral disease characterized by a painful skin rash with blisters in a limited area on one side of the body, often in a stripe...
, a case of Kaposi's sarcoma
Kaposi's sarcoma
Kaposi's sarcoma is a tumor caused by Human herpesvirus 8 , also known as Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus . It was originally described by Moritz Kaposi , a Hungarian dermatologist practicing at the University of Vienna in 1872. It became more widely known as one of the AIDS defining...
, and several patients who had symptoms of what appeared to be, but was not, lymphoma
Lymphoma
Lymphoma is a cancer in the lymphatic cells of the immune system. Typically, lymphomas present as a solid tumor of lymphoid cells. Treatment might involve chemotherapy and in some cases radiotherapy and/or bone marrow transplantation, and can be curable depending on the histology, type, and stage...
. In 1980, a series of patients came to a medical office he had opened in Sherman Oaks
Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, California
Sherman Oaks is an affluent district in the San Fernando Valley area of the city of Los Angeles, California. In contrast to much of the Valley, the area is relatively urbanized, with commercial skyscrapers along Ventura Boulevard as well as scattered throughout...
, all gay men who had a pattern of what appeared to be immune system disorders exhibited by significant loss of weight and swollen lymph node
Lymph node
A lymph node is a small ball or an oval-shaped organ of the immune system, distributed widely throughout the body including the armpit and stomach/gut and linked by lymphatic vessels. Lymph nodes are garrisons of B, T, and other immune cells. Lymph nodes are found all through the body, and act as...
s, accompanied by fever and rashes, in addition to two patients with chronic diarrhea, depressed white blood cell counts and fungal infection
Mycosis
A mycosis is a fungal infection of animals, including humans. Mycoses are common, and a variety of environmental and physiological conditions can contribute to the development of fungal diseases...
s.
Weisman referred two of these cases in 1981 to Michael S. Gottlieb
Michael S. Gottlieb
Michael Stuart Gottlieb is an American physician and immunologist known predominantly for his research in the identification of acquired immune deficiency syndrome and for clinical and philanthropic work associated with AIDS treatment....
, an immunologist at the UCLA Medical Center, who had a patient of his own with a similar pattern of symptoms. Weisman recollected that he knew going into this meeting that these cases "represented was the tip of the iceberg" and that there were "a lot of people that were potentially right behind them". Gottlieb diagnosed these and a number of his other patients as having pneumocystis pneumonia
Pneumocystis pneumonia
Pneumocystis pneumonia or pneumocystosis is a form of pneumonia, caused by the yeast-like fungus Pneumocystis jirovecii...
. A report they jointly wrote published by the Centers for Disease Control in the June 5, 1981, issue of its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report is a weekly epidemiological digest for the United States published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...
, describing how their patients, "5 young men, all active homosexuals, were treated for biopsy-confirmed Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia at 3 different hospitals in Los Angeles, California" of which "[t]wo of the patients died" by the time of the original report. This notice has been recognized as the first published report marking "the official start" of the AIDS pandemic
AIDS pandemic
The acquired immune deficiency syndrome pandemic is a widespread disease caused by the human immunodeficiency virus .Since AIDS was first recognized in 1981, it has led to the deaths of more than 25 million people, making it one of the most destructive diseases in recorded history.Despite recent...
and as "the first report on AIDS in the medical literature". A more detailed report regarding the pneumocystis pneumonia found in a series of four patients was published in a December 1981 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine
New England Journal of Medicine
The New England Journal of Medicine is an English-language peer-reviewed medical journal published by the Massachusetts Medical Society. It describes itself as the oldest continuously published medical journal in the world.-History:...
.
Weisman immediately started warning his patients that the diseases was sexually transmitted and that behavioral changes were needed to help prevent its spread, a warning that was often disregarded and resulted in the deaths of many friends. He became involved in efforts to provide treatment options for AIDS patients, establishing AIDS Project Los Angeles in 1983 and developing Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
's first AIDS unit at the Sherman Oaks Hospital
Sherman Oaks Hospital
Sherman Oaks Hospital is an 153 bed acute care facility on Van Nuys Boulevard in Sherman Oaks, California. It is home of the Grossman Burn Center. SOH is owned and operated by Prime Healthcare Services, a hospital management company located in Victorville, California...
. When amfAR
AmfAR
amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to the support of AIDS research, HIV prevention, treatment education, and the advocacy of sound AIDS-related public policy.-History:...
was founded in 1985 by Gottlieb and Mathilde Krim
Mathilde Krim
Mathilde Krim, Ph.D. is the founding chairman of amfAR, an association for AIDS research.-Biography:Krim received her Ph.D. from the University of Geneva, Switzerland, in 1953...
, Weisman was a board member and became chairman from 1988 to 1992. His medical practice grew into the Pacific Oaks Medical Group, one of the largest treating patients with HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
/ AIDS.
In Weisman's obituary in the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, Gottlieb described him as "a very astute physician" who recognized "that something out of the ordinary was happening" by being "alert to unusual symptoms in his patients". Krim described how Weisman immediately knew that "he was observing something that was never seen before."
Personal
Weisman died at age 66 due to heart diseaseHeart disease
Heart disease, cardiac disease or cardiopathy is an umbrella term for a variety of diseases affecting the heart. , it is the leading cause of death in the United States, England, Canada and Wales, accounting for 25.4% of the total deaths in the United States.-Types:-Coronary heart disease:Coronary...
on July 18, 2009, at his home in the Westwood
Westwood, Los Angeles, California
Westwood is a neighborhood on the Westside of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the home of the University of California, Los Angeles .-History:...
neighborhood of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. He was survived by his domestic partner of 17 years, Bill Hutton, as well as by a daughter and granddaughter, a brother and two nieces. Timothy Bogue, his partner for 10 years, died of AIDS in 1991.