Prof. Fukuyama Yukio (1928–2014)

Prof. Yukio Fukuyama, Tokyo Women's Medical University, Japan. Born on May 28, 1928, Miyazaki, Japan. ^†July 17, 2014.

Prof. Yukio Fukuyama who died on July 17, 2014, at the age of 86 years was an outstanding figure within the global pediatric neurology community. A highly respected scientist, he established an important—and previously unknown—connection between muscular disorders and developmental neurobiology.

Fukuyama was born on May 28, 1928, in Miyazaki on the island of Kyushu. He was educated in Tokyo, where he was awarded his medical diploma and was later appointed chief pediatrician at the National Children's Hospital where he served between 1965 and 1967. From 1967 to 1994, he served as professor and chairman at the Department of Pediatrics at Tokyo Women's Medical University (TWMY).

Under his leadership, the TWMY rapidly became one of the famous neuropediatric centers in Japan, particularly, notable for its research into neuromuscular diseases and infantile epileptic encephalopathies.

Prof. Fukuyama always considered the pediatric as well as the neurological aspects of childhood neurological disorders. In the late 1950s, he and his team noticed a strong elevation of creatine kinase (CK) activity in mentally retarded children with muscular weakness. In 1960, this led to the publication of the groundbreaking article by Fukuyama et al,[1] describing for the first time what is now known as Fukuyama type of congenital muscular dystrophy. Although congenital muscular dystrophy had been discussed in the literature for some time, this important publication initially attracted little interest outside Japan, being only briefly mentioned in 1967 by R. T. C. Pratt in his monograph “The Genetics of Neurological Disorders.”[2]

It took some years until the wider concept of congenital muscular dystrophy evolved. Finally, in 1993, Toda et al[3] succeeded in mapping the FCMD gene to chromosome 9q31–33, now named fukutin (FKTN). Fukuyama was one of the leading forces in this exciting development.[4]

His contributions extended our understanding of genetics and the pathogenesis of muscular disorders from muscle cells to extracellular matrix proteins, and their importance during the development of the central nervous system structures. For this reason, his name will be remembered in line with Duchenne and Becker.

Prof. Fukuyama visited Germany several times. He received the honor of the Duchenne-Erb Prize in Goettingen in 1999 awarded by the “Deutsche Gesellschaft für Muskelkranke” in the presence of the late Prof. P. E. Becker.

The list of his international awards is impressive and long, including the Lifetime Achievement Award (World Federation of Neurology 2002), the International Henri Gastaut Prize (French Chapter of the ILAE 2003), the William Lennox Award (American Epilepsy Society 2004), and the most prestigious Asahi Award 2007 in his homeland, Japan. From 1979 to 1996, he served as founding editor-in-chief of Brain & Development, the Official Journal of Japanese Society of Child Neurology.

Yukio Fukuyama became a personal friend and I was honored to organize in 1994 the first joint meeting of pediatric neurologists from Japan and Germany in Goettingen. In October 2000, a group of 12 neuropediatricians from Germany attended the 2nd Japan–Germany Symposium organized by Prof. Takeshita and Prof. Fukuyama at Tottori University, Yonago, supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.

Those privileged enough to participate were impressed by the high standards of child neurology in Japan and the warm hospitality of our hosts. The permanent threat of earthquake faced by the Japanese left a strong impression on many of us, as did the prospect of suddenly encountering landslides during the train travel.

Yukio Fukuyama remained active following retirement as Emeritus Professor and Honorary Chairman and President of the Asian and Oceanian Child Neurology Association and publishing many papers on epileptology. He will be remembered as one of the pioneers of Pediatric Neurology and in Science.

Our deepest sympathy goes to his wife Ayako Fukuyama.

• References

• 1 Fukuyama Y, Kawazura M, Haruna H. A peculiar form of congenital progressive muscular dystrophy: report of fifteen cases (in Japanese). Paediatria Universitatis Tokyo 1960; (4) 5-8
• 2 Pratt RTC. The Genetics of Neurological Disorders (Oxford Monographs on Medical Genetics). London: Oxford University Press; 1967
• 3 Toda T, Segawa M, Nomura Y , et al. Localization of a gene for Fukuyama type congenital muscular dystrophy to chromosome 9q31–33. Nat Genet 1993; 5 (3) 283-286
• 4 Y. Fukuyama ed. Congenital Muscular Dystrophies, Elsevier; 1997