Ever wondered how diseases got their names? Many diseases have existed through many centuries, but very less is known about who discovered them. If you are curious about how these conditions were identified and why they carry the names they do, here is a specially curated list for you.

An eponymous disease is a medical condition named after the scientist or physician who first identified or described it.

Eponymous diseases are the diseases that have been named after the person who first described or discovered it.

Here are 5 famous diseases we hear often, who they were named after, and why they still matter.

Alzheimer's is a major cause of dementia, occurs due to the degeneration (wasting away) of the cells in the brain, leading to a gradual decline in thinking, behavioral and social skills.

In 1901, Alois Alzheimer, a German psychiatrist and neuropathologist, met a female patient named Auguste Deter, who showed several abnormal behaviors such as memory loss, disorientation, and difficulty with speech.

After her death, Alzheimer examined her brain and medical records. In 1906, he reported his findings of the brain biopsy and described the condition as an ‘unusual disease of the cerebral cortex’.

Interestingly, Alzheimer did not name the disease himself, but his teacher, Kraepelin, recognized the significance of Alzheimer's discovery and called this peculiar illness Alzheimer's disease in his book.

Down syndrome (trisomy 21) is a genetic disorder due to the extra copy of chromosome 21, leading to characteristic facial features, intellectual and developmental disabilities.

In 1866, John Langdon Down published one of the first scientific records to describe people with Down syndrome. He used the term “Mongolism” because he believed most of these patients shared similar features to Blumenbach's Mongoloid race.

Although Down was an advocate for individuals with intellectual disabilities, the racial terminology he used was later recognized as inappropriate.

Today, the term is considered outdated and offensive due to its racist origins, and guidelines worldwide recommend using ‘Down syndrome’ instead.

It was only in 1958 that Jérôme Lejeune, a French physician and researcher, discovered that people with Down syndrome also have an extra copy of the twenty-first chromosome.

The condition of having an extra chromosome is called trisomy. Thus, the term “Mongolism” was abandoned, and the condition was then called Down syndrome.

A disorder of the nervous system leading to tremors, slowed movement, poor posture and balance, rigid muscles, speech changes, and non-motor symptoms like depression, anxiety, and sleep problems.

James Parkinson was the first to describe Parkinson’s disease as a neurological syndrome.

In 1817, James Parkinson published a document called ‘An Essay on the Shaking Palsy’, also called paralysis agitans, where he reported six cases and discussed the degenerative nature of the disease. Although his work received less attention initially, it laid the foundation for further work.

In 1867, Jean-Martin Charcot conducted his own study and used the term “Maladie de Parkinson” in honor of Parkinson’s research.

It is one of the most common causes of hypothyroidism. It is an autoimmune condition involving the thyroid gland, leading to the destruction of the thyroid follicular cells. Commonly seen in women.

In 1912, Hakaru Hashimoto, a Japanese physician, detailed his findings on a new thyroid disease. He called it struma lymphomatosa. He gave a detailed description of the histopathological findings of this disease and is also credited with identifying the first cell-mediated human autoimmune disease.

Although he passed away before getting recognition for his work, the scientific community honored him by renaming struma lymphomatosa as Hashimoto's disease, or Hashimoto's thyroiditis.

An inflammatory bowel disease that causes inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, leading to symptoms such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, weight loss, and fatigue.
Crohn’s was named after Burrill Crohn in 1932. Burrill Crohn, along with colleagues Leon Ginzberg and Gordon D, gathered data from 14 patients with symptoms of abdominal cramps, fever, diarrhea, and weight loss, describing a new disease called regional ileitis. Their work was given significant recognition, and as Crohn was the first author named in the published paper, the disease soon came to be known by his name.

Summary

Eponym is derived from a Greek word epōnumos in which ‘epi’ means upon and ‘onoma' means name, a term used for a person, place or thing which is named after someone.

Naming diseases after people honor their contribution to the medical field. It proves how curiosity, dedication, observation and research can help shape the future. Their work has helped future generations by making it easier to diagnose and understand the medical condition in a better way. 

References:

1. Yang, Hyun Duk, Do Han Kim, Sang Bong Lee, and Linn Derg Young. “History of Alzheimer’s Disease.” Dementia and Neurocognitive Disorders 15, no. 4 (2016): 115–121. https://doi.org/10.12779/dnd.2016.15.4.115

2. Hippius, Hanns, and Gabriele Neundörfer. “The Discovery of Alzheimer’s Disease.” Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience 5, no. 1 (2003): 101–108. https://doi.org/10.31887/DCNS.2003.5.1/hhippius

3. Davie, Charles “A Review of Parkinson’s Disease.” British Medical Bulletin 86, no. 1 (2008): 109–127. https://doi.org/10.1093/bmb/ldn013

4. Ferguson, Robert P., and Deborah Thomas. “Medical Eponyms.” Journal of Community Hospital Internal Medicine Perspectives 4, no. 3 (2014). https://doi.org/10.3402/jchimp.v4.25046

Edited by Dr. Shikhar Dabas and M Subha Maheswari