- Email: [email protected]
In memoriam: Paul J. Bedard, MD PhD (1942–2014)
Parkinsonism and Related Disorders 21 (2015) 429
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Parkinsonism and Related Disorders journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/parkreldis
Editorial
In memoriam: Paul J. Bedard, MD PhD (1942e2014) Dr. Paul J. Bedard passed away on December 26, 2014 after a long illness born with great dignity. He was 72 years of age. He was a neurologist and professor at Laval University, Quebec City (Canada), and renowned for his basic research on Parkinson's disease and levodopa-induced dyskinesia. Dr. Bedard was born and raised in Quebec City. After his internship and one additional year in Internal Medicine, he joined Dr. Louis-J. Poirier's laboratory in 1967 to complete PhD training in Neurobiology and defend a thesis entitled ‘Neuroanatomical, neurochemical, and neuropharmacological study of the nigrostriatal tract’. Subsequently, he spent 1 year at € teborg in Sweden in the laboratory of Profesthe University of Go n to study the metabolism of serotonin sors Carlsson and Ande and dopamine in the CNS. Upon his return to Quebec City, he completed his neurology residency (1973e1975) followed by additional training at King's College Medical School to work under the late C. David Marsden, where he developed an interest in clinical and preclinical experimental therapeutics. From 1977 onward, Dr. Bedard worked in the Neurobiology Research Centre at Enfant-Jesus Hospital, Quebec City, where he was in charge of the Neuropharmacology Unit. Soon after the discovery that the drug MPTP was toxic in humans and induced lasting motor impairment, Dr. Bedard developed the MPTP monkey model of Parkinson's disease. With his first publications dating back to 1986 on the subject, he was among the first to investigate levodopa-induced dyskinesia in the MPTP monkey model. He developed scales to quantify the motor behaviour and dyskinesias in MPTP monkeys that are still used today. Using pharmacological tools, he showed the preponderant role of the mode of drug administration and dopamine receptor occupancy (pulsatile vs. continuous) over the dopamine receptor selectivity (D1 vs. D2) of the replacement therapy in the generation of dyskinesia and associated molecular changes. He developed the paradigm of de novo MPTP monkeys treated with levodopa to study the development of dyskinesia and its molecular correlates, as well as investigating various adjunctive therapy to prevent dyskinesia while maintaining levodopa antiparkinsonian benefit. This work generated 175 peer reviewed papers. Dr. Bedard was greatly involved in the medical scientific community. He was a member of several scientific advisory boards of several research organizations, including Medical Research Council of Canada, Parkinson Society Canada, Neuroscience Network of Canada, and Dystonia Medical Research Foundation (USA). He was councillor for the International Basal Ganglia Society, and editorial board member for the journals Movement Disorders and Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences. For 12 years he was Editor-in-Chief for the journal Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry.
Dr. Bedard was a wonderful mentor and role model, gently encouraging the creative thinking and work of his residents and students. He kept an open-door policy. He had a curious intellect, enjoying travelling and outdoor activities. In addition to his scientific legacy, all who knew him will surely remember his personality mixing charm, gentleness, unselfishness, and humour. He generously shared his knowledge and always presumed the best in everyone, never pre-judging. Dr. Bedard was an outstanding neurologist and researcher whom the neurological community held in high esteem and affection. Dr. Bedard was the eldest of 8 brothers and sisters and we extend our sincere condolences both to his widow Michelle and his extended family.
Therese Di Paolo, PhD, Full Professor Faculty of Pharmacy, Laval University, Canada Pierre J. Blanchet, MD PhD, Associate Professor, Neurologist* Faculty of Dental Medicine, University of Montreal, Canada CHU Montreal, Canada *
Corresponding author. Faculty of Dental Medicine, University of Montreal, PO Box 6128, Succ. Centre-ville, Montreal, Quebec H3C 3J7, Canada. E-mail address: [email protected] (P.J. Blanchet). 19 January 2015
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.parkreldis.2015.01.014 1353-8020/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Parkinsonism and Related Disorders journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/parkreldis
Editorial
In memoriam: Paul J. Bedard, MD PhD (1942e2014) Dr. Paul J. Bedard passed away on December 26, 2014 after a long illness born with great dignity. He was 72 years of age. He was a neurologist and professor at Laval University, Quebec City (Canada), and renowned for his basic research on Parkinson's disease and levodopa-induced dyskinesia. Dr. Bedard was born and raised in Quebec City. After his internship and one additional year in Internal Medicine, he joined Dr. Louis-J. Poirier's laboratory in 1967 to complete PhD training in Neurobiology and defend a thesis entitled ‘Neuroanatomical, neurochemical, and neuropharmacological study of the nigrostriatal tract’. Subsequently, he spent 1 year at € teborg in Sweden in the laboratory of Profesthe University of Go n to study the metabolism of serotonin sors Carlsson and Ande and dopamine in the CNS. Upon his return to Quebec City, he completed his neurology residency (1973e1975) followed by additional training at King's College Medical School to work under the late C. David Marsden, where he developed an interest in clinical and preclinical experimental therapeutics. From 1977 onward, Dr. Bedard worked in the Neurobiology Research Centre at Enfant-Jesus Hospital, Quebec City, where he was in charge of the Neuropharmacology Unit. Soon after the discovery that the drug MPTP was toxic in humans and induced lasting motor impairment, Dr. Bedard developed the MPTP monkey model of Parkinson's disease. With his first publications dating back to 1986 on the subject, he was among the first to investigate levodopa-induced dyskinesia in the MPTP monkey model. He developed scales to quantify the motor behaviour and dyskinesias in MPTP monkeys that are still used today. Using pharmacological tools, he showed the preponderant role of the mode of drug administration and dopamine receptor occupancy (pulsatile vs. continuous) over the dopamine receptor selectivity (D1 vs. D2) of the replacement therapy in the generation of dyskinesia and associated molecular changes. He developed the paradigm of de novo MPTP monkeys treated with levodopa to study the development of dyskinesia and its molecular correlates, as well as investigating various adjunctive therapy to prevent dyskinesia while maintaining levodopa antiparkinsonian benefit. This work generated 175 peer reviewed papers. Dr. Bedard was greatly involved in the medical scientific community. He was a member of several scientific advisory boards of several research organizations, including Medical Research Council of Canada, Parkinson Society Canada, Neuroscience Network of Canada, and Dystonia Medical Research Foundation (USA). He was councillor for the International Basal Ganglia Society, and editorial board member for the journals Movement Disorders and Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences. For 12 years he was Editor-in-Chief for the journal Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry.
Dr. Bedard was a wonderful mentor and role model, gently encouraging the creative thinking and work of his residents and students. He kept an open-door policy. He had a curious intellect, enjoying travelling and outdoor activities. In addition to his scientific legacy, all who knew him will surely remember his personality mixing charm, gentleness, unselfishness, and humour. He generously shared his knowledge and always presumed the best in everyone, never pre-judging. Dr. Bedard was an outstanding neurologist and researcher whom the neurological community held in high esteem and affection. Dr. Bedard was the eldest of 8 brothers and sisters and we extend our sincere condolences both to his widow Michelle and his extended family.
Therese Di Paolo, PhD, Full Professor Faculty of Pharmacy, Laval University, Canada Pierre J. Blanchet, MD PhD, Associate Professor, Neurologist* Faculty of Dental Medicine, University of Montreal, Canada CHU Montreal, Canada *
Corresponding author. Faculty of Dental Medicine, University of Montreal, PO Box 6128, Succ. Centre-ville, Montreal, Quebec H3C 3J7, Canada. E-mail address: [email protected] (P.J. Blanchet). 19 January 2015
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.parkreldis.2015.01.014 1353-8020/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.