Angelman Syndrome New Zealand, Angelman new Zealand
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Harry Angelman, the fifth of six children of Samuel and Elizabeth Angelman, was born on 13th August 1915. He studied medicine at Liverpool University and qualified in 1938, later discovering the medical syndrome, which bears his name. With a view to specialising in paediatrics, he gained a diploma in child health and took up a post at Booth Hall Children’s Hospital in Manchester. From there he went to Queen Mary’s Hospital, Carshalton, before joining the Royal Army Medical Corps and being posted to India. As Major Angelman, he attended to the medical needs of Italian prisoners of-war in Quetta, where his fascination with the Italian language began. After demobilisation, he was appointed to St. Mary Abbott’s Hospital, London; in 1947 he attained membership of the Royal College of Physicians. He then went as registrar to the Royal Liverpool Children’s Hospital, where he received his doctorate of medicine in 1948. In 1950, he became consultant paediatrician to the Warrington group of hospitals where the story of Angelman syndrome began to unfold. In the early 1960′s, three handicapped children were examined by Angelman; although their disabilities differed, he felt that there was a common cause. The diagnosis was purely clinical because, despite technical investigations which today are more refined, he was unable to establish scientific proof that the children were suffering from the same condition.
Subsequently, on holiday in Italy, he happened to see an oil painting at the Castelvecchio Museum in Verona entitled “A Boy with a Puppet” The boy’s laughing face and the fact that his Warrington children exhibited jerky movements prompted him to write an article- “Puppet Children”- about his three young patients. “It was not a name that pleased all the parents”, Angelman recalled in 1991, “but it served as a means of combining the three little patients into one group.” Later, the name was changed to Angelman Syndrome. This article was published in 1965 and, after some initial interest was almost forgotten until the early 1980′s. In fact, many doctors denied that such a condition existed. In the past 10 years, American and British doctors have placed the syndrome on a firm footing, with the ability to establish the diagnosis beyond doubt. An Angelman support group was formed in 1985 and soon afterwards the Angelman Syndrome Foundation was established in the United States. There are now similar associations worldwide which offer support to the families of affected children. In 1971, Angelman was granted fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians. He retired five years later and, moving to Portsmouth, embarked on translating medical text books from Italian into English. Dr Harry Angelman passed away on 8/08/96. His wife, Audrey, continued supporting families and promoting awareness of Angelman Syndrome. She was instrumental in the establishment of the International Angelman Syndrome Organisation. She passed away on 15/08/99 |
