History of the German Society for Arteriosclerosis Research

Günter Siegel, Free University of Berlin

Arteriosclerosis research has a long tradition in Germany. More than 170 years ago, Lobstein, professor at the University Medical Clinic in Strasbourg and also chair of pathological anatomy, reported in his textbook of pathological anatomy "on the thickening of the arteries, or arteriosclerosis," thus introducing the term 'arteriosclerosis' into scientific research. Valuable contributions to the history of arteriosclerosis research can be found in the works of Virchow, Roy, Leibowitz, Lauer, Rokitansky, Doerr, and Kohn.

At the beginning of the last century, the tombs of the pharaohs in the Egyptian pyramids were discovered and opened. Shattock and Ruffer conducted autopsies on pharaohs and a large number of mummies and found sclerotic changes in the arteries. These findings are very important because they prove that arteriosclerosis did not only appear in the industrial age, but also thousands of years earlier.

Through chemical analysis of the sclerotic arterial wall, Gmelin, Tiedemann, and Bürger discovered the "earthy" substances calcium phosphate and calcium carbonate in the atherosclerotic plaque, while Virchow in Berlin had already drawn attention to fatty deposits in the vessel wall in 1852 and classified arteriosclerosis as an inflammation. Marchand introduced the term "atherosclerosis," primarily referring to an increased lipid content in the arterial wall, which remains a focus of arteriosclerosis research to this day.

From a clinical perspective, Heberden and Parry described the causes and symptoms of coronary artery disease and angina pectoris. Hammer was the first to correctly diagnose myocardial infarction during life, a condition that remains central to clinical, epidemiological, and animal research on arteriosclerosis. Hauss, a clinician and founder of the Institute for Arteriosclerosis Research at the University of Münster, adopted this knowledge from Morawitz and Hochrein and dedicated his life to this field.

The development of arteriosclerosis research in Germany shows that the establishment of a German Society for Arteriosclerosis is the natural consequence of a constantly expanding research base and increasing interest in this field. In retrospect, it seems rather surprising that the formation of such a society was realized so late, especially given that every second citizen of our country dies from the consequences of a vascular disease caused by arteriosclerosis. It is possible that only the broadening of the research base provided the decisive impetus to illuminate the multifaceted nature of arteriosclerosis from the perspective of various disciplines. For example, it is now possible to culture vascular wall cells from patients in such a way that the effects of drugs on individual effector cells can be directly monitored. This substantial progress benefits our therapeutic efforts in inhibiting atherogenesis and in secondary prophylaxis after angioplasty and bypass surgery.

Professor Betz, emeritus physiologist at the University of Tübingen, was the intellectual father, scientific pioneer, and one of the founders of the German Arteriosclerosis Society. He was always interested in the structure, normal function, and pathophysiology of blood vessels. Two international congresses on the topic of 'Vascular Smooth Muscle', annual meetings of the Tübingen Working Group for Vascular Diseases, and symposia with the European Artery Club united researchers from a wide range of disciplines and culminated in the founding conference of the German Society for Arteriosclerosis Research in March 1987. The conference on the topic of 'Early Changes in Atherogenesis', like the subsequent annual meetings, took place at the Heinrich Fabri Institute (University of Tübingen) in Blaubeuren with the generous support of Adolf Merckle, Honorary Senator of the University of Tübingen.

For the first two years, the society was led by Betz and Hauss, with Grünwald (Münster) serving as secretary and Heinle (Tübingen) as treasurer. Since 1988, Heinle, as secretary, and Schulte (Münster), as treasurer, have dedicated their quietly effective activity, prudence, undivided attention, and diligence to the society. The presidents have thus far rotated every two years: Assmann (Münster), Schaefer (Freiburg), Breddin (Frankfurt), Kaffarnik (Marburg), Siegel (Berlin), Hanefeld (Dresden), and Hahmann (Isny-Neutrauchburg). In 1990, the German Society for Arteriosclerosis Research became the exclusive national member of the International Atherosclerosis Society. The current membership stands at 347, the majority of whom are young scientists—a favorable factor that ensures a constant flow of new ideas and intellectual dynamism.

A society also has the duty to recognize outstanding scientific achievements. Here, the society owes a debt of gratitude to the biologist Kuno Lichtwer, who endowed the WH Hauss Prize (10,000 DM) for an outstanding scientific work, the G. Schettler Prize (2,000 DM) for the best presentation, and the E. Betz Prize (2,000 DM) for the best poster presentation at our annual meeting. These prizes have been awarded consecutively since 1992.

Following the original idea of H.E. Schaefer (Freiburg) and at the initiative of G. Siegel (Berlin), the Rudolf Schönheimer Medal was designed by the Royal Porcelain Manufactory Berlin (KPM) and produced in bisque porcelain based on the only existing photograph from his research years. It was created to recognize and honor his outstanding contributions to the German Society for Arteriosclerosis Research. Rudolf Schönheimer, a native of Berlin, was forced to emigrate to the USA in 1933 after a brief period of research in Berlin and Freiburg. There, he continued his groundbreaking work on cholesterol research at the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University in New York, where he died at the age of only 43. His research group later produced the three Nobel laureates H.C.F. Dam, V. du Vigneaud, and K. Bloch. The Rudolf Schönheimer Medal has previously been awarded to Messrs. Merckle, Lichtwer, Betz, Breddin, and Kaffarnik. This brings us full circle to the great researchers, promoters and personalities of arteriosclerosis research in Germany.

(As of 2001)