Keywords: History of Medicine - Neurology - Movement Disorders - Basal Ganglia Diseases
Palavras-chave: História da Medicina, Neurologia - Transtornos dos Movimentos - Doenças dos Gânglios
da Base
Movement Disorders, among the different sub-specialties of Neurology, has grown exponentially
worldwide in recent years[1 ],[2 ]. The interest in movement disorders (previously defined as disorders of the extrapyramidal
system) emerged in Brazil through the research of Antonio Austregésilo in Rio de Janeiro[3 ],[4 ], and increased by the continuous scientific support of Andrew Lees, mainly regarding
events of continuing education[5 ],[6 ]. Luiz Augusto Franco de Andrade (at that time, at the Escola Paulista de Medicina
[EPM], currently the Universidade Federal de São Paulo) and Egberto Reis Barbosa (Hospital
das Clínicas, Universidade de São Paulo) played a crucial role in the development
and advance of studies on this topic in Brazil.
LUIZ AUGUSTO FRANCO DE ANDRADE
LUIZ AUGUSTO FRANCO DE ANDRADE
Luiz Augusto Franco de Andrade was born in the city of Marília, São Paulo, in 1944,
but settled in Londrina, in the state of Paraná, where he finished his elementary
and high school studies[7 ]. He entered the Federal University of Paraná School of Medicine in 1963, graduating
in 1968, and subsequently completed his medical residency in Neurology at EPM in 1971.
In 1973 he completed a fellowship in the area of cerebrovascular diseases, under the
supervision of John Marshal at the Queen Square Institute of Neurology, in London[7 ]. He returned to Brazil in 1973 and was hired at the Neurology Service at EPM[7 ]. His involvement with Parkinson's disease and movement disorders started in 1978,
when he received a request from the head of the Department of Neurology to review
the topic “Neurochemistry and Neurotransmitters” and to present a lecture for the
members of the Neurology Service at EPM. Based on this presentation, Dr. Elisaldo
L. Carlini, Professor of Psychopharmacology at EPM, invited Andrade to develop his
PhD thesis in the Department of Psychobiology, under his supervision. At that time,
Professor Carlini was investigating the pharmacological effects of cannabis on behavior
and sleep[8 ]. His hypothesis was that REM sleep deprivation could induce dopamine supersensitivity[9 ]. In 1982, Professor Andrade presented his PhD thesis entitled “REM sleep deprivation
in an experimental model of Parkinson's disease in rats’ under the supervision of
Professor Carlini[7 ],[10 ]. From 1978 onwards, Andrade coordinated the Extrapyramidal Disease Unit at EPM and,
since that time, this service became a national reference in the area of movement
disorders[7 ]. In 1985, in a partnership with Roberto Melaragno, Andrade coordinated the first
international symposium on movement disorders, which was held in the Brazilian cities
of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, and involved renowned experts such as David Marsden
(UK), Oscar Gershanik (Argentina) and Carlos Chouza (Uruguay)[7 ] ([Figure 1A ]). In 1995, he completed his post-doctoral studies with a thesis entitled “Contribution
to the study of early-onset parkinsonism: clinical and therapeutic considerations”[7 ]. He was an Associate Professor of Neurology at EPM from 1978 to 1997, and head of
the Neurology Service at EPM from 1995 to 1997. Andrade has continued to participate
in many events throughout Brazil, Latin America, and abroad[7 ], where his vast expertise in movement disorders was always evident, as well as his
broad knowledge and experience in the field of general Neurology. Andrade participated
in the creation of the Neurology Recycling and Investigation Study Group (GERIN),
which organizes continuing education events about movement disorders across Brazil.
Also, he has edited three books, numerous chapters, and has published 74 scientific
manuscripts[7 ],[10 ],[11 ]. Finally, it is necessary to highlight his enthusiastic and generous support of
younger colleagues, certainly one of the main factors taken into account for the thriving
of movement disorders in Brazil ([Figure 2 ]).
Figure 1 Professor Luiz Augusto Franco de Andrade (A) and Professor Egberto Reis Barbosa (B)
early in their careers.
Figure 2 From left to right: Dr. F. Tensini, Dr. H. Teive, Dr. O. Gershanik, Dr. G. Franklin,
Prof. Luiz Augusto Franco de Andrade, Dr. A. Meira and Dr. F. Cardoso) in the 11th
National Meeting of Movement Disorders, held in Ouro Preto, Brazil, 2018.
EGBERTO REIS BARBOSA
Egberto Reis Barbosa was born in the city of Mirassol, São Paulo in 1948[12 ]. He carried out his elementary and high school studies in the towns of Brotas and
São José do Rio Preto, respectively, in the state of São Paulo. He graduated in 1973
and did his Medical Residency in Neurology at FMUSP's Hospital das Clínicas from 1974
to early 1976, when he was invited to coordinate the outpatient clinic for Extrapyramidal
Diseases at the same hospital[12 ]. At that time, he was mentored by Professor Horacio M. Canelas, who was the head
of the Neurology Service at FMUSP and was engaged in the study of Wilson's disease.
Professor Canelas suggested that Barbosa should join the recently established Outpatient
Clinic for “Abnormal Movement Diseases”. Afterwards, he completed his Master's Degree
in 1986 and his PhD in 1990, at FMUSP[12 ], and was appointed a collaborator Instructor of Medicine at the same institution
in 2000. Since he began coordinating the Abnormal Movements Clinic in 1976, Professor
Barbosa has participated in trainings in the field of countless doctors not only from
Brazil, but also from many Latin America countries[12 ]. He also held several leadership roles at FMUSP's Hospital das Clínicas and other
hospitals in São Paulo. In addition, he developed a high-level line of research on
different types of movement disorders, particularly on Wilson's disease, in which
he is considered a worldwide reference[12 ],[13 ],[14 ]. The cohort of patients with Wilson's disease who are followed up at FMUSP's Outpatient
Movement Disorders Clinic is one of the largest in the world[14 ]. He is, perhaps, among the few clinicians of the world who have personally examined
and followed up over one hundred patients with Wilson's disease. Barbosa has been
part of the GERIN since 1998 and has participated in continuous education events in
the movement disorders around the world ([Figure 1B ]). He also has published several books, book chapters, and more than 200 scientific
papers.[11 ],[12 ],[13 ],[14 ] In several of the previously mentioned educational endeavors, he has partnered with
Andrade, which led them to achieve the status of father figures for the subsequent
generation of physicians in the field of movement disorders ([Figure 3 ]).
Figure 3 From left to right: Dr. L. Gonçalves, Dr. M. Haddad, Prof. Egberto Reis Barbosa,
Dr. M. Gonçalves, Dr. S. Chien, Prof. H. Singer, Prof. Aron Diament.
With their work in several hospitals and medical schools, Luiz Augusto Franco de Andrade
and Egberto Reis Barbosa have been driving forces in the area of movement disorders,
and they are responsible for the development and major advances seen in this field
in recent years in Brazil.
