MOGENS SCHOU AWARDS
In recognition of
Mogens Schou, M.D., Dr.
Med. Sci. and his establishment of the first efficacious treatment
of bipolar disorder and contributions to the field of psychiatry and the
treatment of bipolar disorder over the last fifty years.
2005 Awardees:
Samuel Gershon, M.D.
Mogens Schou
Award for Distinguished Service
David J. Miklowitz, Ph.D.
Mogens Schou
Award for Research
Paolo Lucio Morselli, M.D.
Mogens Schou
Award for Education and Advocacy
Mogens Schou, M.D., Dr. Med.
Sci.
Honorary
President
International Society for Bipolar Disorders
Emeritus Professor
The Psychiatric HospitalRisskov,
Denmark
Mogens
Schou was born in Copenhagen 1918. After graduation from Copenhagen
University Medical School in 1944 he trained in clinical psychiatry at
Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish hospitals and in experimental biology at
institutes in Copenhagen, New York, and Aarhus.
From 1951 Professor Schou worked at the psychiatric hospital, Risskov,
Denmark, from 1956 as head of its Psychopharmacology Research Unit. In
1971 he was appointed to a newly created chair of biological psychiatry
at Aarhus University. He retired in 1988.
In 1952 Dr. Schou and his associates gave lithium to their first manic
patient, and in 1954 they published the outcome of a partly open, partly
randomized and placebo-controlled trial, the first of its kind in
psychiatric pharmacotherapy. It confirmed the antimanic effect of
lithium, first observed in 1949 by John Cade. In the 1960’s the Danish
psychiatrist, Paul Christian Baastrup and Professor Schou carried out a
study of lithium treatment in patients with recurrent manic-depressive
disorder. It ran over six and a half years, involved 88 patients, and
was published in 1967. It showed that long-term lithium treatment was
associated with a marked (87 percent) and long-lasting decrease in the
frequency of manic and depressive recurrences, that the effect was the
same in bipolar and unipolar patients, and that the efficacy of lithium
did not disappear with time or after interruption and subsequent
resumption of the treatment.
Lithium thus became the first long-term treatment that could break the
almost inexorable development of manic and depressive recurrences.
Prophylactic lithium treatment was adopted by other psychiatrists who
confirmed its efficacy. The Danish trial was, however, criticized on
methodological grounds by psychiatrists who had never, themselves, given
lithium. Baastrup, Schou, and their associates then carried out two
randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, prospective
discontinuation trials. They were terminated after six months by a
sequential analysis and showed a highly significant difference between
lithium and placebo in both bipolar and unipolar patients.
After publication of this study in 1970, lithium became first-choice
mood stabilizer in bipolar disorder, whereas, to Professor Schou’s
dismay, its considerable ability to prevent recurrent depressions has
generally been disregarded.
Over the years, Professor Schou has published more than 530 articles,
books and book chapters. His studies have dealt with the effect of
lithium treatment on artistic creativity, treatment management and
monitoring, treatment regimens, somatic and psychological side effects,
the effects of lithium treatment on kidney and thyroid function,
interaction with other drugs, and acute and late effects of
intoxication. Together with an international research team, IGSLI, which
he initiated, Professor Schou has studied the effect of long-term
lithium treatment on mortality and suicidal behavior, as well as the
genetics of ‘excellent lithium responders.’ Since lithium cannot be
patented it has received limited commercial support, and Professor Schou
has, therefore, lectured extensively to psychiatrists, hospital
physicians, general practitioners, and patient groups in order to
promote its appropriate use. He has written books that have appeared in
twelve languages written in non-technical language for patients and
relatives.
Professor Schou has received numerous honors and awards, including the
Danish Alfred Benzon and Ernst Carlsen Prizes 1967 and 1968, first Prize
from the German Anna-Monika Stiftung 1969 (for work carried out with
J.Angst, P.C.Baastrup, P.Grof and P.Weis), the German Paul Martini Prize
1969 (with the same), the Danish Novo Foundation Prize 1971, the
International Scientific Kittay Foundation Award 1974 (shared with John
Cade), the Taylor Manor Hospital Psychiatric Award 1978, the Great
Nordic Fernström Prize 1979, the John Cade Memorial Award 1982, the
National Depressive and Manic-Depressive Association's Abraham Lincoln
Award 1987, the Mary and Albert Lasker Clinical Medical Research Award
1987, the American David R. Wood Award 1988, the Lundbeck Foundation's
Research Prize 1988, the International Society of Lithium Research’s
Mogens Schou Prize for Lifetime Achievement 1995, and the CINP Pioneers
in Psychopharmacology Award 2000.
Professor Schou is an honorary Fellow of the Royal College of
Psychiatrists (Great Britain), Collegium Internationale
Neuro-Psychopharmacologium, the British Association of
Psycho-pharmacology, the Scandinavian Society for Psychopharmacology,
and many other scientific societies. He holds honorary doctorates from
Universities of Marseille, Munich, and Prague.
Samuel Gershon, M.D.
Mogens Schou Award for Distinguished Service
Samuel Gershon graduated from the medical school of the University of
Sydney, Australia in 1950 and after a medical internship undertook his
residency in Melbourne and obtained his D.P.M. from the University of
Melbourne. This setting in Melbourne was where in 1948 Cade published
his report of lithium’s activity in 6 manic patients, which was followed
by the large study of lithium in over 100 psychiatric patients published
in 1957 by Noack and Trautner. During 1951 he had the opportunity of
observing lithium’s clinical activity in hospitalized patients and set
his course in biological psychiatry.
During his psychiatric residency 1952-6 he began to work with mentors in
the Departments of Physiology and Pharmacology at the University of
Melbourne. The earliest publications originated from these relationships
and the most important and valuable relationship at a personal and
professional level was with Dr. E. M. Trautner. His work in these
preclinical departments provided an important background which permitted
an integrative translational approach for his work in
psychopharmacology.
This formed the basis for research activities undertaken during his
residency. The first paper on lithium was entitled “The Excretion and
Retention of Ingested Lithium and its effect on the Ionic Balance of Man
(1955).” It raised the possibility of a differential pattern of
retention and excretion of the lithium ion in the manic phase of bipolar
patients and the flushing out of lithium when the mania resolved. These
observations tended to point to some pharmacological specificity of
lithium in so called “typical” manic cases. This report also presented
the details of the use of the spectrophotometric assay of lithium. These
studies also presented the case for safe monitoring of lithium usage and
a general concept for a therapeutic window.
A subsequent paper touched on the prophylactic potential of lithium
entitled “The Treatment of Shock-dependency by Pharmacological Agents
(Gershon, S. & Trautner) 1956.” Though its title gives no clue to this
aspect of the issue, lithium toxicity continued to handicap safe and
easy usage of lithium as most psychiatrists using lithium relied on
clinical monitoring of side effects which still resulted in treatment
being halted and also deaths. Therefore, a study was undertaken to
attempt to understand the physiology of the intoxication and develop a
rational therapy. This work was presented in a paper entitled “Treatment
of Lithium Poisoning” and appeared in the Aust. Ann. Med. in 1957. These
studies on lithium provided a firm basis for plasma level lithium
monitoring to prevent toxicity and to maintain a therapeutic range of
plasma levels.
Now that lithium usage had started to spread around the world the
important question of possible teratogenicity was studied and the
findings reported in “The Effects of Prolonged Sub-toxic Lithium
Ingestion in Pregnancy in Rats” in 1958. All these lithium studies were
conducted with faculty at the University of Melbourne. That was Dr.
Gershon’s last report on lithium in Australia and the next was with his
colleague Dr. Arthur Yuwiler during his first stay in the United States
in 1959-60 entitled “Lithium Ion: A Specific Psychopharmacological
Treatment of Mania.” This report presented the therapeutic use of
lithium to an American audience and it produced a significant level of
interest among practicing psychiatrists, researchers, and even provided
a hearing at NIMH. If nothing else it provided a wider audience for this
new treatment at a time when psychoanalysis was a major influence in
American Psychiatry.
An intriguing contribution followed with his publication in the Lancet
in 1961 reporting the psychiatric sequelae of human exposure to
organo-phosphorus insecticides. This work played a significant role in
the understanding of the central role of acetylcholine in the
psychopharmacology of mood disorders.
In 1963, Dr. Gershon moved permanently to the U.S. and after a short but
very active sojourn at the Missouri Institute of Psychiatry moved to New
York University, and there began an exceptionally productive period as
Head of the Neuropsychopharmacology Research Unit at New York
University. At Bellevue, Dr. Gershon developed a highly productive
pre-clinical research group and innovative clinical research was
conducted by a legion of fellows, associates, and residents who were
drawn from all over the world. Much of this work was translational, with
colleagues involved in both the pre-clinical and clinical components of
the project.
Another major contribution from this Bellevue period was the significant
work conducted with Baron Shopsin that explored the effect of synthesis
inhibitors on the response of patients to anti-depressant drugs. At the
time, the catecholamine hypothesis was dominant in regard to depression
and anti-depressant treatment. The experiments employed AMPT an –
inhibitor of NE synthesis, and PCPA an – inhibitor of serotonin
synthesis, and these studies demonstrated that with of several classes
of anti-depressants the PCPA treated group did not sustain therapeutic
activity, suggesting a key role for serotonin in these models. Theses
studies led to the wide use of synthesis inhibitors in dissecting the
role of serotonin in depression.
Another series of studies that were important in defining the clinical
profile of lithium treatment were undertaken with Shopsin, Johnson, and
others. These were controlled comparisons of lithium and antipsychotic
drugs and were pioneering studies when controlled trials were in their
infancy. They helped define the clinical spectrum of lithium. These
studies together suggested that lithium had its optimum therapeutic
activity in “typical” bipolar cases with poor activity in
schizo-affective and schizophrenic patients, even causing negative
clinical effects in these latter populations. Controlled studies with
chlorpromazine and haloperidol showed an opposite profile of activity
with superiority of the anti-psychotics in schizo-affective populations
compared to lithium. In 1973, Dr. Gershon published the first textbook
on Lithium entitled “Lithium its role in Psychiatric Research and
Treatment” together with Baron Shopsin. It is considered that this aided
the distribution of information on Lithium and supported the comfort of
physicians in its widespread usage. In 1979 Dr. Gershon took up the
position of Chairman of Psychiatry at Wayne State University and
Director of the Lafayette Clinic. Then, in 1988 he moved to the
University of Pittsburgh as Associate Vice Chancellor for Research in
the Health Sciences and Professor of Psychiatry in the Department of
Psychiatry.
Whilst at Pitt he co-founded the Journal, Bipolar Disorders, with Jair
Soares and also co-founded the International Society for Bipolar
Disorders (ISBD). He is still an editor of the Journal and has been
President of the Society for the past 4 years.
In the course of his career Dr. Gerson has published over 600 articles,
book chapters, and two dozen books.
In December 1997 on his 70th birthday he was honored with a Festschrift
at the ACNP meeting in Hawaii by his colleagues, mentors, and friends.
Throughout his career he has been a dedicated mentor to several
generations of students, residents, and fellows.
David J. Miklowitz, Ph.D.
Mogens Schou Award for Research
Dr. Miklowitz is Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at the
University of Colorado (Boulder and Health Sciences Center Campuses). He
completed his undergraduate work at Brandeis University and his doctoral
(1979-1985) and postdoctoral (1985-1988) work at UCLA. His research
focuses on family environmental factors and family psychoeducational
treatments for adult-onset and childhood-onset bipolar disorder.
Dr. Miklowitz has received the Joseph Gengerelli Dissertation Award from
UCLA (1986), Young Investigator Awards from the International Congress
on Schizophrenia Research (1987) and the National Alliance for Research
on Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD; 1987), a Research Faculty Award
from the University of Colorado (1998), and a Distinguished Investigator
Award from NARSAD (2001). He has received funding for his research from
the National Institute of Mental Health, the John D. and Catherine T.
MacArthur Foundation, and the Robert Sutherland Foundation.
Dr. Miklowitz has published more than 120 research articles and book
chapters on bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. His articles have
appeared in the Archives of General Psychiatry, the American Journal of
Psychiatry, the British Journal of Psychiatry, the Journal of Nervous
and Mental Disease, Biological Psychiatry, the Journal of Consulting and
Clinical Psychology, and the Journal of Abnormal Psychology. His book
with Michael Goldstein, Bipolar Disorder: A Family-Focused Treatment
Approach (Guilford), won the 1998 Outstanding Research Publication Award
from the American Association for Marital and Family Therapy. His latest
book, also with Guilford, is titled The Bipolar Disorder Survival Guide.
Paolo Lucio Morselli, M.D.
Mogens Schou Award for Education and Advocacy
Paolo Lucio Morselli graduated in 1961 with full honors in Medicine from
the University of Milan, Milan, Italy, where he obtained the
specialization “cum laude” in Psychiatry in 1965. He then spent two
years as a Fullbright-Hays Fellow at the Department of Biochemical
Pharmacology, Medical College of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia, USA. In
1968, Professor Morselli returned to Italy where he created and directed
the Clinical Pharmacology Unit at the Mario Negri Institute, Milan until
1975.
From 1976–1994, he held a variety of professional posts at Synthélabo
Pharmaceutical, Paris, France, including Executive Director of the
Clinical Research Department, Corporate Vice President and Director
General for Medical Affairs, and Member of the Executive Committee
Board. He also served on the Board of Directors of Lorex
Pharmaceutical, Skokie, Illinois, USA, and Synthelabo KK, Tokyo, Japan.
He retired in 1994.
He has received several awards for his work including the “Ambrogino
d’oro” from the City of Milan (1972), the “ASPET-I.L.A.E. Research
Award” (1978), the “Ambassador for Epilepsy Award” (1979), the
“Prix-Galien Award” (1992), and the “Prix-Medec Award” (1992). He has
been listed in Marquis “Who is Who in the World” (1990, 2003 and 2004
eds.).
Professor Morselli is a member of several professional and medical
societies, and is on the Editorial Boards of 9 international scientific
journals. He has published more than 500 scientific articles and nearly
20 specialized monographs.
Throughout his career Professor Morselli has been active in education,
serving as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Psychiatry,
University of Milan Medical School, Milan, Italy; an Invited Lecturer at
the Universities of Nancy and Bordeaux, France; Visiting Professor in
Clinical Neuropsychopharmacology at the Hopital Trias I Pujol,
Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Spain; Associated Professor and
Scientist at the Institut Philippe Pinel de Montreal, Canada; and
“Professore a Contratto” for Psychiatry and Clinical Psycho-pharmacology
at the Department of Psychiatry, University of Pisa, Italy.
Professor Morselli served, on a volunteer “pro bono basis,” in two
advocacy organizations operating in the mental health field: as
Vice-President of Fondazione-I.D.E.A. in Milan, Italy (1997–2003); and
as Secretary General of GAMIAN-Europe (1998–2004) where he is also a
“charter member”. He also serves as Vice-President of Outreaching for
ISBD (2001- present).
His present major interests include: social and therapeutic aspects of
mental disorders; the problems linked to stigma and prejudice associated
with mood disorders and other mental illnesses; the role of advocacy
patient-driven organizations operating in the field of mental illnesses
in the long-term management of the mentally ill; and the role of
advocacy patient-driven organizations operating in the field of mental
illnesses in the empowerment of patients and their families, as well as
in the education of the general population about mood disorders. |
