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Several neuropathologists conducted brain research on victims of so-called euthanasia programs carried out by the National Socialist (Nazi) regime in Germany from 1940 to 1945. Some published their results in German journals or books during and after the war. One of these neuropathologists was Hans Jacob of Hamburg, a former Nazi party member and the leader of the same laboratory previously run by Alfons Jakob (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease). Though much has been published on the unethical actions of Jacob's fellow neuropathologist from Berlin, Julius Hallervorden, Jacob's actions were remarkably similar and have not been previously analyzed in the neuroscience literature. Jacob dissected at least 42 patient brains from euthanasia centers near Hamburg, and saved the specimens from at least 17 of them. He published a 1956 book chapter featuring 2 such specimens. Jacob was denazified, had a notable career, and never publicly addressed his actions during the war. His ethical violations may not have been on the same scale as Hallervorden's, but the effect of his work echoes to the modern era. As responsible researchers, we must always be conscious of the provenance of material provided and not succumb to opportunistic temptation despite the ethical consequences., (© 2017 American Academy of Neurology.)

Russian-born, Vienna-trained neurologist and neuropathologist Ilya Mark Scheinker collaborated with Josef Gerstmann and Ernst Sträussler in 1936 to describe the familial prion disorder now known as Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker disease. Because of Nazi persecution following the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany, Scheinker fled from Vienna to Paris, then after the German invasion of France, to New York. With the help of neurologist Tracy Putnam, Scheinker ended up at the University of Cincinnati, although his position was never guaranteed. He more than doubled his prior publications in America, and authored three landmark neuropathology textbooks. Despite his publications, he was denied tenure and had difficulty professionally in the Midwest because of prejudice against his European mannerisms. He moved back to New York for personal reasons in 1952, dying prematurely just 2 years later. Scheinker was twice uprooted, but persevered and eventually found some success as a refugee.

The 1920s were a booming decade for neuroscience, and perhaps nowhere was this truer than in Germany. Following the rise of Hitler's regime and the persecution of Jews and others, however, Germany and Austria lost numerous world-class neuroscientists. Vacant posts were quickly filled with 'Aryan' and academic staff loyal to the Nazis. Indeed, many physicians and scientists went even further and became engaged in National Socialist (NS)-euthanasia programs. In recent years, the medical community has become more aware of the ethical burden associated with eponyms derived from scientists of the Third Reich. This book chapter reviews 53 neurological eponyms derived from physicians who worked in the Nazi era. Among them are victims who were forced out of the country or murdered in concentration camps, protestors who risked their academic careers and often their lives, beneficiaries who published on brains from 'euthanized' children, and collaborators who were directly involved in the planning and execution of NS-euthanasia programs., (© 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Austrian neuroscientist Josef Gerstmann, well known for describing Gerstmann syndrome and for pioneering works on tactile agnosia, also co-described the familial prion disorder later known as Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker disease. In 1938, Nazi Germany annexed Austria (the "Anschluss") and the three-time decorated war veteran Gerstmann was dismissed from his professorship in Vienna because of his "race." In 1942, he unknowingly had his doctorate stripped, only to have it returned in 1955. The Gerstmann properties were seized in Vienna, resulting in a bitter postwar reclamation battle. Gerstmann immigrated to the United States quickly after the annexation and had some success in exile but never again directed a hospital. He maintained a private practice throughout his exile and, in the 1940s, had some research and consulting positions in New York. More than 75 years after the Anschluss, many questions remain unanswered about Gerstmann's forced exile and the impact of becoming a refugee on his life and career.

In 1936, Austrian neuroscientists Josef Gerstmann and Ernst Sträussler, along with expatriate Russian neuroscientist Ilya Mark Scheinker, described the familial prion disorder later named for them from a case they mutually treated at a Viennese neurologic hospital. In 1938, Austria was annexed to Nazi Germany in the Anschluss, effectively ending any collaboration between the 3 men. Gerstmann and Scheinker eventually immigrated to America, and Sträussler, although dismissed from his faculty position, remained protected from persecution in Vienna throughout the war likely because of his marriage to an "Aryan woman." Although he attained some degree of success in exile, Gerstmann was never again director of a hospital and primarily maintained a private practice after some brief consulting positions in New York in the 1940s. His medical degree was retroactively stripped by the Nazis without his knowledge, and was not reinstated until 1955. Gerstmann also became embroiled in a bitter struggle to regain his confiscated property in Vienna. Scheinker, aided by the refugee resettlement committee, settled in Cincinnati where he had several successful years and published 3 textbooks, but was denied university tenure and entered private practice until his untimely death. All 3 neurologists lost significant career momentum, and had to pick up the pieces of their fractured lives after the war or their forced exile. Their stories reflect many of the tragic realities of Nazi persecution of Jewish physicians., (© 2014 American Academy of Neurology.)

Hans Berger was a German neuropsychiatrist and head of the neurology department at the University of Jena, who discovered the human electroencephalogram (EEG). Many sources state that Berger was forced into retirement and suicide by the Nazis because he was at odds with the regime. In fact, Berger helped select his Nazi successor Berthold Kihn (complicit in "euthanasia" murders), financially supported the Nazi Schutzstaffel (SS), and was a willing participant on Nazi genetic health higher courts that reviewed appeals for forced sterilizations of neuropsychiatric patients. His motivations could be related to avoiding Nazi harassment, indoctrination by Nazi ideology, or less likely, career opportunism. His actions stand in contrast to colleagues who partially resisted the Nazis, and hopefully will serve as an example to future generations of neurologists regarding the danger of allowing one's professional standing to be used as a tool to support the policies of tyranny and oppression., (© The Author(s) 2013.)

Walther Birkmayer, an Austrian neurologist, codiscovered the efficacy of levodopa therapy for Parkinsonism in 1961. However, little has been published regarding Birkmayer's ties to National Socialism. Through documentary review, we have determined that he was an early illegal member of the SS and the Nazi party, taking part in the "de-Jewification" of the Vienna University Clinic of Psychiatry and Neurology. He also was a leader in the Nazi racial policy office and was praised for his dedication and fanaticism despite being forced to later resign from the SS. He sought support from leading Viennese Nazis, and was able to maintain his professional status for the war's remainder. Postwar, he succeeded at reintegration personally and professionally into Austrian society, all but erasing any obvious ties to his Nazi past. His story reflects ethical transgressions regarding professional and personal behavior in response to a tyrannical regime and provides lessons for today's neuroscientists.

Adolf Wallenberg became the "anatomical conscience" to at least one famed neurologist, and was known worldwide by top neurologists. His comprehensive clinical-pathological descriptions of what became known as Wallenberg Syndrome had a large impact on neurology and launched his career. He did not let a skull base injury from an accident, or his service in the German army in World War I, impede his progress. Despite his accomplishments, because he was Jewish he was stripped of his research laboratory and forced to stop working when the Nazis took over his native Danzig. He barely escaped just before World War II began and immigrated to England, then to the United States. Because of his impact on neurology and his unusual strife, his story is one that neuroscientists should not forget.

Previously, I mentioned that not all neuroscientists collaborated with the Nazis, who from 1933 to 1945 tried to eliminate neurologic and psychiatric disease from the gene pool. Oskar and Cécile Vogt openly resisted and courageously protested against the Nazi regime and its policies, and have been discussed previously in the neurology literature. Here I discuss Alexander Mitscherlich, Haakon Saethre, Walther Spielmeyer, Jules Tinel, and Johannes Pompe. Other neuroscientists had ambivalent roles, including Hans Creutzfeldt, who has been discussed previously. Here, I discuss Max Nonne, Karl Bonhoeffer, and Oswald Bumke. The neuroscientists who resisted had different backgrounds and motivations that likely influenced their behavior, but this group undoubtedly saved lives of colleagues, friends, and patients, or at least prevented forced sterilizations. By recognizing and understanding the actions of these heroes of neuroscience, we pay homage and realize how ethics and morals do not need to be compromised even in dark times.

Approximately 9,000 physicians were uprooted for so-called “racial” or “political” reasons by the Nazi regime and 6,000 fled Germany. These refugees are often seen as survivors who contributed to a “brain drain” from Germany. About 432 doctors (all specialties, private and academic) were dismissed from the major German city of Hamburg. Of these, 16 were Hamburg University faculty members dismissed from their government-supported positions for “racial” reasons, and, of these, five were neuroscientists. In a critical analysis, not comprehensively done previously, we will demonstrate that the brain drain did not equal a “brain gain.” The annihilation of these five neuroscientists’ careers under different but similar auspices, their shameful harassment and incarceration, financial expropriation by Nazi ransom techniques, forced migration, and roadblocks once reaching destination countries stalled and set back any hopes of research and quickly continuing once-promising careers. A major continuing challenge is finding ways to repair an open wound and obvious vacuum in the German neuroscience community created by the largely collective persecution of colleagues 80 years ago. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background HELLP syndrome (a combination of hemolysis, elevated liver enzyme levels, and low platelet count) is a severe variant of preeclampsia that generally occurs before delivery but can occur post partum. This syndrome is more common than eclampsia and frequently leads to devastating neurological consequences such as intracerebral hemorrhage. Objective Although mentioned in the obstetric literature, there has been sparse reporting in the neurology literature specifically regarding intracerebral hemorrhage in HELLP syndrome. We illustrate such a case and review the existing literature regarding this severe complication. Setting Obstetric unit at an academic medical center. Patient A 34-year-old primigravida experienced a pontine hemorrhage and subsequent respiratory arrest 22 hours after a normal delivery. This hemorrhage occurred 7 hours after the sudden onset of hypertension, severe headache, and intermittent abdominal pain. Results Laboratory and postmortem evidence suggested HELLP syndrome with disseminated intravascular coagulation as the cause of her intracerebral hemorrhage. Conclusions Our case suggests the importance of the neurology consultant’s familiarity with HELLP syndrome and the need for thorough laboratory testing and close monitoring in the puerperal patient with headache and hypertension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]