More on Tracy Putnam and Thomas Rivers...two men who tried to define the causes of Multiple Sclerosis. The opposing teams in The Battle.
Both men were working to establish animal models for MS during the 1930s. As we know now, Putnam used dogs, linked to venous blockage-
http://www.oac.cdlib.org/data/13030/8s/ ... 39n78s.pdf
Tracy J. Putnam was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on April 14, 1894. Following A.B. (1916) and M.D. (1920) degrees from Harvard
University, his training included neurosurgery under Harvey Cushing at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital (1925) and neurology with Stanley Cobb at the Boston City Hospital neurological unit (1929-33).Putnam wasdirector of the services of Neurology and Neurological Surgery at the New York Neurological Institute from 1939-47, and Professor of the same disciplines at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University. During this period he was a founding member of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (1946) and what later became the National Epilepsy Foundation (1946)
Thomas RIvers - used rabbits, then mice and found EAE-
The bacteriologist and virologist Thomas Milton Rivers spent over thirty years at the Rockefeller Institute as a researcher in the Department of Bacteriology and from 1937-1955, as Director. Working on measles and pneumonia, Rivers discovered the parainfluenzae bacillus and cultivated vaccine virus for human use, and during the 1950s, he played an important role in coordinating research on poliomyelitis as head of the National Institute for Infantile Paralysis. During the Second World War, Rivers led the Naval Medical Research Unit in the South Pacific, rising to the rank of Rear Admiral.
Between 1922 and 1955, Rivers molded Rockefeller into the preeminent laboratory for research on viruses, and in over 100 papers published during these years, Rivers addressed a range of topics relating to some of the most devastating viral diseases, including smallpox, Rift Valley Fever, and epidemic encephalitis. More importantly, he helped delineate the disciplinary boundaries of virology as both conceptually and methodologically distinct.
During the Second World War, Rivers again offered his services, serving as commander of the Naval Medical Research Unit in the South Pacific where his attentions were drawn to coordinating the effort to combat malaria and typhus. He eventually retired from the Navy with the rank of Rear Admiral. He returned to the Rockefeller in 1946, remaining for an additional ten years and eventually earning promotion to director of the institute (1953-1955).
link
Here is the interesting part, and the fact that screams out to me...Putnam helped establish the MS Society, Rivers was a virologist and EAE wasn't embraced at first.
The National MS Society...which PUTNAM HELPED FOUND- does not even mention the man's name in it's "History of MS" pamphlet. The guy started your group...where is he? Check it out at the NMMS website, search History of MS. Rivers is all over the brochure...
So, why was Putnam expunged? Something happened after WWII. Was it due to the Rockefeller Institute? Industrialized Military complex? I gotta get going, any other history buffs want to tell Putnam's story....go for it. Where are Putnam's dogs in the history books???
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