Advanced Search

The American Journal of Psychiatry, VOL. 156, No. 11

Images in Psychiatry | November 01, 1999

Ladislas J. Meduna, M.D. 1896–1964

Am J Psychiatry 1999;156:1807-1807.

Article

Figures

References

text A A A

On Jan. 23, 1934, Ladislas J. Meduna, a Hungarian neuropathologist, induced an epileptic seizure in a 33-year-old man with catatonic schizophrenia. After five more seizures in 3 weeks, the psychosis was relieved. The concept of an antagonism between epilepsy and schizophrenia developed when Meduna found greater concentrations of brain glia in patients with epilepsy than in those with schizophrenia (1). His monograph Die Konvulsionstherapie der Schizophrenie(2) described the recovery of more than half of 110 schizophrenic patients with seizures induced by pentylenetetrazol (Metrazol). By 1936, pentylenetetrazol-induced seizures were in use throughout the world, and they were later replaced by electrical inductions.

Meduna received his medical degree in Budapest in 1922 and obtained a position at the Interacademic Brain Research Institute. He wrote a landmark monograph on the anatomy and pathology of the pineal gland before he turned to clinical research.

In 1938, Meduna emigrated to become Professor of Neurology at Loyola University in Chicago. After the war he continued his research at the Illinois Psychiatric Institute and the private practice of psychiatry until his death in 1964.

He reported insulin tolerance and abnormal glucose metabolism in schizophrenic patients. Seeking an alternative to electroshock, he experimented with CO₂ inhalations. While these did not help his psychotic patients, the inhalations often relieved the obsessive ruminations of neurotic patients. He published a monograph on dream and fugue states in psychosis in Oneirophrenia: The Confusional State(3).

Meduna served as president of the Society of Biological Psychiatry in 1953. An independent and proud man, he was methodical and rigorous in his science. He left the legacy of convulsive therapy (4), the most effective and broadest treatment for the severely mentally ill in use today.

Dr. Fink, Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, State University of New York at Stony Brook, P.O. Box 457, St. James, NY 11780.

View Large | Download Slide(.ppt)
Add to My POL

: Ladislas JMeduna, M.D..

References

Meduna L: Autobiography. Convuls Ther 1985; 1:43–57; 121–135[PubMed]

Meduna LJ: Die Konvulsionstherapie der Schizophrenie. Halle, Germany, Carl Marhold, 1937

Meduna LJ: Oneirophrenia: The Confusional State. Urbana, University of Illinois Press, 1950

Fink M: Meduna and the origins of convulsive therapy. Am J Psychiatry1984; 141:1034–1041; correction, 141: 1648

Download all saved figures as a .zip file.

View Large
Download Slide(.ppt)

Add to My POL

Ladislas JMeduna, M.D..

Meduna L: Autobiography. Convuls Ther 1985; 1:43–57; 121–135[PubMed]

Meduna LJ: Die Konvulsionstherapie der Schizophrenie. Halle, Germany, Carl Marhold, 1937

Meduna LJ: Oneirophrenia: The Confusional State. Urbana, University of Illinois Press, 1950

Fink M: Meduna and the origins of convulsive therapy. Am J Psychiatry1984; 141:1034–1041; correction, 141: 1648

CME Activity

There is currently no quiz available for this resource. Please click here to go to the CME page to find another.

Submit a Comments

Please read the other comments before you post yours. Contributors must reveal any conflict of interest.
Comments are moderated and will appear on the site at the discertion of JBJS editorial staff.

* = Required Field

Comment Author(s)*(if multiple authors, separate names by comma)

Example: John Doe

Affiliation & Institution*

Comment Title*

Comment*

Cancel

Print
PDF
E-mail

Recipient(s) will receive an email with a link (good for 72 hours) to 'Ladislas J. Meduna, M.D. 1896–1964' and do not need to have American Journal of Psychiatry account to access the content.
Your Name:*
Example: John Doe

Email Address:* CC Me:
Enter your valid email address. Example: jdoe@example.com

Recipient's Email Address:*
Separate multiple email address with semi-colons (up to 5).

Subject:* 's American Journal of Psychiatry: 'Ladislas J. Meduna, M.D. 1896–1964'
Subject for your email.

Message:
(Optional, message will truncate at 1000 characters)

Processing your request... Please Wait...

Copyright © in the material you requested is held by The American Psychiatric Association (unless otherwise noted). This email ability is provided as a courtesy, and by using it you agree that you are requesting the material solely for personal, non-commercial use, and that it is subject to The American Psychiatric Association's Terms of Use. The information provided in order to email this topic will not be used to send unsolicited email, nor will it be furnished to third parties. Please refer to The American Psychiatric Association's Privacy Policy for further information.

Copyright © American Psychiatric Association. All rights reserved.
Share
Get Citation

Ladislas J. Meduna, M.D. 1896–1964. American Journal of Psychiatry. 1999 Nov;156(11):1807-1807.

Download citation file:

RIS (Zotero)

EndNote

BibTex

Medlars

ProCite

RefWorks

Reference Manager

Copyright © American Psychiatric Association. All rights reserved.
Reprints