Obituary: Peter R. Huttenlocher, MD

Obituary: Peter R. Huttenlocher, MD

Pediatric Neurology 50 (2014) 441e442 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Pediatric Neurology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/pnu O...

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Pediatric Neurology 50 (2014) 441e442

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Pediatric Neurology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/pnu

Obituary

Obituary: Peter R. Huttenlocher, MD Peter R. Huttenlocher (Figure), former section chief of pediatric neurology and professor emeritus at the University of Chicago School of Medicine, died on August 15, 2013, at age 82 from complications of pneumonia and Parkinson disease. After moving from Germany in 1949, he attended the University of Buffalo and graduated summa cum laude with a major in philosophy in 1953. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Medical School in 1957. After an internship at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, he completed a residency at Boston Children’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital and then did a research fellowship at the National Institutes of Health. After this training, he worked at Harvard for 2 years and at Yale for 8 years before joining the University of Chicago faculty in 1974. Dr. Huttenlocher’s work on synaptic pruning during development was widely recognized.1 By counting synapses in brains of patients of different ages, he documented that synaptic density peaks at 3 months in the auditory cortex, 8-12 months in the visual cortex, and 3 years in the frontal cortex before gradually decreasing by adulthood. These findings helped promote early-stimulation programs to aid brain development in children. His varied clinical research interests included the addition of medium-chain triglyceride oil in the ketogenic diet, treatment of Reyes syndrome, and new insights into tuberous sclerosis (among other contributions, Huttenlocher founded the first tuberous sclerosis clinic). In 1976, he described an infant with cerebral degeneration and progressive cirrhosis, a disorder that later became known as Alpers-Huttenlocher syndrome.2,3 His investigations helped shape modern pediatric neurology, and in 1984 he received the 1984 Hower Award from the Child Neurology Society.1 Dr. Huttenlocher was an exceptional teacher. Although his lectures were clear and erudite, his forte was bedside teaching. Dr. Huttenlocher had a presence. Tall, handsome, and brilliant, he examined patients patiently and compassionately. He inspired his medical students and

Republished with permission of the Child Neurology Society, St. Paul, MN.

* Communications should be addressed to: Dr. Edelman, MD; Department of Neurology; University of Wisconsin; School of Medicine and Public Health MC 2425; 600 Highland Avenue; Madison, WI 537922425. E-mail address: [email protected] 0887-8994/$ - see front matter Ó 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pediatrneurol.2014.01.030

FIGURE. Peter R. Huttenlocher, MD (photograph courtesy of the University of Chicago).

residents to believe that clinical pediatric neurology was a challenge and a privilege. He also made neurology fun and exciting. Dr. Huttenlocher and I first met in 1974, when we both first came to the University of Chicago. I was a nervous pediatric intern, he an esteemed professor. During the Reyes syndrome epidemic that devastated Chicago in the

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mid-1970s, we worked together in the intensive care unit caring for critically ill children. He impressed me by his knowledge, his concern, and his diligence. He encouraged me to become a pediatric neurology fellow. I owe my career to his interest, guidance, and support. Dr. Huttenlocher inspired many of us who became academicians, researchers, and clinicians in child neurology. He and his wife Janellen, a professor in cognitive psychology at the University of Chicago, invited us to their home in Hyde Park and their summer home in Michigan to join their cultured community of music, science, food, and conversation. On September 28, many of his colleagues joined his family for a memorial service in Chicago. We and his wife Janellen, his son Daniel, dean of the Tech Campus at Cornell, Anna, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin, and his son Carl, founder of Myriad Asset Management, celebrated his accomplishments, his renaissance

interests, and his joy as a parent, grandparent, physician, scientist, and loving husband. I invite all child neurologists to honor him and his contributions to our Society.

References 1. Rust RS. Alpers-Huttenlocher syndrome: origins of clinicopathologic recognition. Pediatr Neurol. 2013;48:165-166. 2. Huttenlocher PR, Solitare GB, Adams G. Infantile diffuse cerebral degeneration with hepatic cirrhosis. Arch Neurol. 1976;33:186-192. 3. Saneto RP, Cohen BH, Copeland WC, Naviaux RK. Alpers-Huttenlocher syndrome. Pediatr Neurol. 2013;48:167-178.

Frederick Edelman, MD* Department of Neurology School of Medicine and Public Health University of Wisconsin Madison, Wisconsin