Richard Asher | |
---|---|
Born | Richard Alan John Asher 3 April 1912
Brighton, Sussex, England
[1] |
Died | 25 April 1969 | (aged 57)
Occupation | Physician |
Spouse | |
Children | 3, including Peter and Jane |
Richard Alan John Asher FRCP (3 April 1912 – 25 April 1969) was an eminent British endocrinologist and haematologist. [3] As the senior physician responsible for the mental observation ward at the Central Middlesex Hospital [4] he described and named Munchausen syndrome in a 1951 article in The Lancet. [5]
Richard Asher was born to the Reverend Felix Asher and his wife Louise (née Stern). He married Margaret Augusta Eliot at St Pancras' Church, London on 27 July 1943, [6] whereupon his father-in-law gave him a complete set of the Oxford English Dictionary, which doctor and medical ethicist Maurice Pappworth alleged was the source of Asher's "accidental" reputation as a medical etymologist. [7] They had three children: Peter Asher (born 1944), a member of the pop duo Peter & Gordon and later record producer; Jane Asher (born 1946), a film and TV actress and novelist; and Clare Asher (born 1948), a radio actress. Richard Asher's brother Thomas married Margaret's sister, Susan. [8]
The Asher family home above his private consulting rooms at 57 Wimpole Street was briefly notable when Paul McCartney of The Beatles lived there in 1964–66, at the height of " Beatlemania", during his relationship with Jane Asher. [9]
In 1964 Asher suddenly gave up his hospital post and perhaps all medical activities. [4] He suffered from depression in later life and reportedly died by suicide at the age of 57. [3] His death took place at 57 Wimpole Street, and he left a will and an estate valued at £35,937. [10]
Asher was regarded as "one of the foremost medical thinkers of our times", [11] who emphasised the need "to be increasingly critical of our own and other people's thinking". [12] Asher was particularly concerned that "many clinical notions are accepted because they are comforting rather than because there is any evidence to support them". [13]
Asher was hailed as a pioneer [14] in challenging the value of excessive bed rest following treatment, [15] and argued that the Pel–Ebstein fever (a fever characteristic for Hodgkin's disease) was an example of a condition that exists only because it has a name. [16] Asher's 1949 paper "Myxoedematous Madness" [17] alerted a generation of physicians to the interaction between the brain and the thyroid gland. As a result, young and elderly psychiatric patients are now screened for thyroid malfunction. [18] Some of the 'madness' cases are now thought [19] to be the early descriptions of Hashimoto's encephalopathy, a rare neuroendocrine syndrome sometimes presenting with psychosis.
Asher is remembered today mostly for his "refreshingly provoking" [3] articles which "sparkle with sequins--his own aphorisms, imaginary dialogue, fantasies, quotations." [20] He thought that medical writing should provide "useful, understandable, and practical knowledge instead of allotov-words-2-obscure-4-any-1,2-succidin-understanding-them." [21] Anthologies of his articles were well-received, [11] [22] with the Talking Sense collection being described as "still the best advice on medical writing." [23] Notable articles include:
The " Seven Sins of Medicine" [3] is a lecture delivered by Asher and later published in The Lancet, describing medical professional behaviour that is considered inappropriate. These sins are often quoted to students:
From 1995 to 2010 an annual prize (2010 value £1,200) in memory of Asher was awarded by the Royal Society of Medicine and the Society of Authors for the best first edition textbook aimed at undergraduate students. [25] The most recent prize was presented to Hugo Farne, Edward Norris-Cervetto and James Warbrick-Smith for their book "Oxford Cases in Medicine and Surgery" at the Royal Society of Medicine, 27 October 2010.
Richard Asher | |
---|---|
Born | Richard Alan John Asher 3 April 1912
Brighton, Sussex, England
[1] |
Died | 25 April 1969 | (aged 57)
Occupation | Physician |
Spouse | |
Children | 3, including Peter and Jane |
Richard Alan John Asher FRCP (3 April 1912 – 25 April 1969) was an eminent British endocrinologist and haematologist. [3] As the senior physician responsible for the mental observation ward at the Central Middlesex Hospital [4] he described and named Munchausen syndrome in a 1951 article in The Lancet. [5]
Richard Asher was born to the Reverend Felix Asher and his wife Louise (née Stern). He married Margaret Augusta Eliot at St Pancras' Church, London on 27 July 1943, [6] whereupon his father-in-law gave him a complete set of the Oxford English Dictionary, which doctor and medical ethicist Maurice Pappworth alleged was the source of Asher's "accidental" reputation as a medical etymologist. [7] They had three children: Peter Asher (born 1944), a member of the pop duo Peter & Gordon and later record producer; Jane Asher (born 1946), a film and TV actress and novelist; and Clare Asher (born 1948), a radio actress. Richard Asher's brother Thomas married Margaret's sister, Susan. [8]
The Asher family home above his private consulting rooms at 57 Wimpole Street was briefly notable when Paul McCartney of The Beatles lived there in 1964–66, at the height of " Beatlemania", during his relationship with Jane Asher. [9]
In 1964 Asher suddenly gave up his hospital post and perhaps all medical activities. [4] He suffered from depression in later life and reportedly died by suicide at the age of 57. [3] His death took place at 57 Wimpole Street, and he left a will and an estate valued at £35,937. [10]
Asher was regarded as "one of the foremost medical thinkers of our times", [11] who emphasised the need "to be increasingly critical of our own and other people's thinking". [12] Asher was particularly concerned that "many clinical notions are accepted because they are comforting rather than because there is any evidence to support them". [13]
Asher was hailed as a pioneer [14] in challenging the value of excessive bed rest following treatment, [15] and argued that the Pel–Ebstein fever (a fever characteristic for Hodgkin's disease) was an example of a condition that exists only because it has a name. [16] Asher's 1949 paper "Myxoedematous Madness" [17] alerted a generation of physicians to the interaction between the brain and the thyroid gland. As a result, young and elderly psychiatric patients are now screened for thyroid malfunction. [18] Some of the 'madness' cases are now thought [19] to be the early descriptions of Hashimoto's encephalopathy, a rare neuroendocrine syndrome sometimes presenting with psychosis.
Asher is remembered today mostly for his "refreshingly provoking" [3] articles which "sparkle with sequins--his own aphorisms, imaginary dialogue, fantasies, quotations." [20] He thought that medical writing should provide "useful, understandable, and practical knowledge instead of allotov-words-2-obscure-4-any-1,2-succidin-understanding-them." [21] Anthologies of his articles were well-received, [11] [22] with the Talking Sense collection being described as "still the best advice on medical writing." [23] Notable articles include:
The " Seven Sins of Medicine" [3] is a lecture delivered by Asher and later published in The Lancet, describing medical professional behaviour that is considered inappropriate. These sins are often quoted to students:
From 1995 to 2010 an annual prize (2010 value £1,200) in memory of Asher was awarded by the Royal Society of Medicine and the Society of Authors for the best first edition textbook aimed at undergraduate students. [25] The most recent prize was presented to Hugo Farne, Edward Norris-Cervetto and James Warbrick-Smith for their book "Oxford Cases in Medicine and Surgery" at the Royal Society of Medicine, 27 October 2010.