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Dr. Robert J. White (1926–2010)
Resuscitation 83 (2012) 18–19
Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect
Resuscitation journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/resuscitation
Obituary
Dr. Robert J. White (1926–2010) Harold Hillman 76 Epsom Road, Guildford, Surrey GU1 2BX, United Kingdom
a r t i c l e
i n f o
Article history: Received 17 August 2011 Accepted 18 August 2011
On the 17th of September 2010, Dr. Robert White of Cleveland, OH, died from a stroke and severe diabetes. Robert White was raised in Duluth, Minnesota by his mother and an aunt, his father having been killed on active service during the Second World War. The family was poor. He qualified in medicine at Harvard University, and obtained a Ph.D. in neurological surgery at Minnesota University. After spending six years at the Mayo Clinic, he moved to Cleveland in 1961. There, he set up the Brain Research Laboratory at the Metropolitan General Hospital, and was soon appointed Professor of Neurosurgery at Case Western Reserve University. In 1970, his specialist knowledge of the comparative anatomy of the cerebral circulation, together with years of experience as a neurosurgeon, led him to carry out the first head transplant (in monkeys), since Charles Guthrie in 1908, and Vladimir Demikhov in the 1950s. Despite the several days during which the head and body remained alive, the brains refused to grow dendrites, which
E-mail address: [email protected] 0300-9572/$ – see front matter doi:10.1016/j.resuscitation.2011.08.011
would join and then control the spinal cord. I suggested that a brain ‘glue’ was needed, which would encourage such magic, and I proposed several ingredients for it, which could be injected between the donor brain and the recipient spinal-cord. Its ingredients might include: nerve growth factor; embryo extract; stem cells; tissue cultures; steroids; ATP; neuroglia; and vitamins. Some or all of these might constitute such a hypothetical ‘glue’. I could not obtain funds to pursue this research. Nevertheless, Dr. White agreed that some such glue would be needed to make transplants viable in the future. Incidentally, such research has recently been pursued in the United States, China and the United Kingdom, using this approach. In 1961, Dr. White published in ‘Nature’ some spectacular experiments in which he perfused and kept alive isolated monkey brains. They lasted several hours and had normal electroencephalographs. His intention in these experiments was to study the regional chemistry in different parts of the brain. At first, Dr. White was reluctant to explain in public why he did these experiments. The answer was that all over the world, there was a reservoir of patients, who had severely damaged brains in healthy bodies, and others who had healthy brains in ill bodies. Perhaps, they could be joined together. Potentially, patients in prolonged vegetative states, quadriplegia, cancer, multiple organ failure, degenerative brain diseases and other conditions, would benefit from successful head transplants. However, some physicians and anti-vivisectionists objected to Dr. White’s experiments. They felt that the animals could feel pain after transplantation, that vivisection was wrong, or that it was not right to interfere with the brain, which houses the soul. For a period of time, Dr. White and his family had to have police protection. Incidentally, he believed that the personality was housed in the brain, and any recipient of a brain would have the personality of the donor, so he spoke of a ‘body’ transplant rather than a head transplant. In addition to these experiments, Dr. White did important pioneering work on cooling the brains to slow their metabolism. This enabled him to operate on the brains for longer periods, without them becoming hypoxic.
H. Hillman / Resuscitation 83 (2012) 18–19
During his 50 year career, he carried out 10,000 operations, some of them lasting up to 8 h. His stamina was legendary. He could read three books a day, and usually took only 5 h sleep a night. Dr. White’s wife, Patsy, had formerly been a nurse. They had ten children, who were raised strictly. He was a devout Catholic, went to Mass frequently, and prayed before operations. He was a confidant of several popes. He treated Pope John Paul II for gunshot wounds after an attempt was made to assassinate him in 1994. He founded the John Paul II Committee on Bioethics. He also advised on the treatment of the Russian President, Boris Yeltsin. In 1970, he was invited to become the Western Hemisphere Editor of ‘Resuscitation’, and the journal first appeared in 1972. His active laboratory and many connections ensured that the early editions of the journal were well represented by North American papers. He resigned the editorship, when he felt that some of the earlier supporters of the journal had gone over to rival journals of emergency medicine, which had started since ‘Resuscitation’ was established. He felt rather betrayed by this.
19
Dr. White was also well-known in Italy, the Soviet Union and China. He visited, lectured and appeared on television in these countries, and as well as in Britain and Germany. In Britain, he gave well-attended lectures at, inter alia, the Hammersmith Postgraduate Medical School, the Institute of Neurology, the Maudsley Hospital, and the University of Surrey. He was widely honoured. He was awarded a papal knighthood, and he had several honorary doctorates, and visiting professorships. In 1997, he was awarded the Humanitarian Award of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in 2006, and was again under consideration for the Prize, when he died. Bob – as he preferred to be called – was a distinguished neurosurgeon and experimental physiologist. He was a visionary, a man of courage and commitment, a family man, a devoted believer, and a kind human being. He was always friendly and had a good sense of humour. He was admired and regarded with affection by the whole staff of the Metropolitan General Hospital. He was a legend, while he was alive. He will be mourned for a long time. Harold Hillman was the first Editor-in Chief of ‘Resuscitation’. He knew Dr. White for 50 years.
Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect
Resuscitation journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/resuscitation
Obituary
Dr. Robert J. White (1926–2010) Harold Hillman 76 Epsom Road, Guildford, Surrey GU1 2BX, United Kingdom
a r t i c l e
i n f o
Article history: Received 17 August 2011 Accepted 18 August 2011
On the 17th of September 2010, Dr. Robert White of Cleveland, OH, died from a stroke and severe diabetes. Robert White was raised in Duluth, Minnesota by his mother and an aunt, his father having been killed on active service during the Second World War. The family was poor. He qualified in medicine at Harvard University, and obtained a Ph.D. in neurological surgery at Minnesota University. After spending six years at the Mayo Clinic, he moved to Cleveland in 1961. There, he set up the Brain Research Laboratory at the Metropolitan General Hospital, and was soon appointed Professor of Neurosurgery at Case Western Reserve University. In 1970, his specialist knowledge of the comparative anatomy of the cerebral circulation, together with years of experience as a neurosurgeon, led him to carry out the first head transplant (in monkeys), since Charles Guthrie in 1908, and Vladimir Demikhov in the 1950s. Despite the several days during which the head and body remained alive, the brains refused to grow dendrites, which
E-mail address: [email protected] 0300-9572/$ – see front matter doi:10.1016/j.resuscitation.2011.08.011
would join and then control the spinal cord. I suggested that a brain ‘glue’ was needed, which would encourage such magic, and I proposed several ingredients for it, which could be injected between the donor brain and the recipient spinal-cord. Its ingredients might include: nerve growth factor; embryo extract; stem cells; tissue cultures; steroids; ATP; neuroglia; and vitamins. Some or all of these might constitute such a hypothetical ‘glue’. I could not obtain funds to pursue this research. Nevertheless, Dr. White agreed that some such glue would be needed to make transplants viable in the future. Incidentally, such research has recently been pursued in the United States, China and the United Kingdom, using this approach. In 1961, Dr. White published in ‘Nature’ some spectacular experiments in which he perfused and kept alive isolated monkey brains. They lasted several hours and had normal electroencephalographs. His intention in these experiments was to study the regional chemistry in different parts of the brain. At first, Dr. White was reluctant to explain in public why he did these experiments. The answer was that all over the world, there was a reservoir of patients, who had severely damaged brains in healthy bodies, and others who had healthy brains in ill bodies. Perhaps, they could be joined together. Potentially, patients in prolonged vegetative states, quadriplegia, cancer, multiple organ failure, degenerative brain diseases and other conditions, would benefit from successful head transplants. However, some physicians and anti-vivisectionists objected to Dr. White’s experiments. They felt that the animals could feel pain after transplantation, that vivisection was wrong, or that it was not right to interfere with the brain, which houses the soul. For a period of time, Dr. White and his family had to have police protection. Incidentally, he believed that the personality was housed in the brain, and any recipient of a brain would have the personality of the donor, so he spoke of a ‘body’ transplant rather than a head transplant. In addition to these experiments, Dr. White did important pioneering work on cooling the brains to slow their metabolism. This enabled him to operate on the brains for longer periods, without them becoming hypoxic.
H. Hillman / Resuscitation 83 (2012) 18–19
During his 50 year career, he carried out 10,000 operations, some of them lasting up to 8 h. His stamina was legendary. He could read three books a day, and usually took only 5 h sleep a night. Dr. White’s wife, Patsy, had formerly been a nurse. They had ten children, who were raised strictly. He was a devout Catholic, went to Mass frequently, and prayed before operations. He was a confidant of several popes. He treated Pope John Paul II for gunshot wounds after an attempt was made to assassinate him in 1994. He founded the John Paul II Committee on Bioethics. He also advised on the treatment of the Russian President, Boris Yeltsin. In 1970, he was invited to become the Western Hemisphere Editor of ‘Resuscitation’, and the journal first appeared in 1972. His active laboratory and many connections ensured that the early editions of the journal were well represented by North American papers. He resigned the editorship, when he felt that some of the earlier supporters of the journal had gone over to rival journals of emergency medicine, which had started since ‘Resuscitation’ was established. He felt rather betrayed by this.
19
Dr. White was also well-known in Italy, the Soviet Union and China. He visited, lectured and appeared on television in these countries, and as well as in Britain and Germany. In Britain, he gave well-attended lectures at, inter alia, the Hammersmith Postgraduate Medical School, the Institute of Neurology, the Maudsley Hospital, and the University of Surrey. He was widely honoured. He was awarded a papal knighthood, and he had several honorary doctorates, and visiting professorships. In 1997, he was awarded the Humanitarian Award of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in 2006, and was again under consideration for the Prize, when he died. Bob – as he preferred to be called – was a distinguished neurosurgeon and experimental physiologist. He was a visionary, a man of courage and commitment, a family man, a devoted believer, and a kind human being. He was always friendly and had a good sense of humour. He was admired and regarded with affection by the whole staff of the Metropolitan General Hospital. He was a legend, while he was alive. He will be mourned for a long time. Harold Hillman was the first Editor-in Chief of ‘Resuscitation’. He knew Dr. White for 50 years.