Harry B. Demopoulos was an American researcher in the medical aspects of

free radicals In chemistry, a radical, also known as a free radical, is an atom, molecule, or ion that has at least one unpaired electron, unpaired valence electron. With some exceptions, these unpaired electrons make radicals highly chemical reaction, chemi ...

, especially in the areas of

ischaemic Ischemia or ischaemia is a restriction in blood supply to any tissue, muscle group, or organ of the body, causing a shortage of oxygen that is needed for cellular metabolism (to keep tissue alive). Ischemia is generally caused by problems ...

injury, the toxicity of anticancer drugs, and in

spinal cord injury A spinal cord injury (SCI) is damage to the spinal cord that causes temporary or permanent changes in its function. It is a destructive neurological and pathological state that causes major motor, sensory and autonomic dysfunctions. Symptoms of ...

. He was also a

film actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

, appearing in

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western (genre), Western TV series ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Ma ...

films.

Free radical research

Ischaemic injury (injury to cells due to oxygen deprivation) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in humans. For example, most deaths in

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

and

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

are secondary to ischaemic injury, a consequence of the

ischemic cascade The ischemic (ischaemic) cascade is a series of biochemical reactions that are initiated in the brain and other aerobic tissues after seconds to minutes of ischemia (inadequate blood supply). This is typically secondary to stroke, injury, or cardia ...

. Thus, much research has been done into the causes and treatment of ischaemic injury. One are of this research involves the essential role of free radicals (

reactive oxygen species In chemistry and biology, reactive oxygen species (ROS) are highly Reactivity (chemistry), reactive chemicals formed from diatomic oxygen (), water, and hydrogen peroxide. Some prominent ROS are hydroperoxide (H2O2), superoxide (O2−), hydroxyl ...

and the like) as modulators of ischaemic injury. This has resulted in therapeutic advances, such as the radical-scavenging

neuroprotective Neuroprotection refers to the relative preservation of neuronal structure and/or function. In the case of an ongoing insult (a neurodegenerative insult) the relative preservation of neuronal integrity implies a reduction in the rate of neuronal l ...

agent

NXY-059 Disufenton sodium (Cerovive, OKN-007, NXY-059, HPN-07) is a free radical trapping nitrone-based antioxidant compound that has been under development for several medical conditions. Chemistry Disufenton sodium is the disulfonyl derivative of th ...

, which was under development for the treatment of stroke. Demopoulos and his coworkers were active in this research. The opening sentence of a paper by Nita ''et al''. states: "The concept of generation of free radicals during ischemia was first presented by Demopoulos, Flamm and co-workers..."

Doris Duke Charitable Foundation

Although

Doris Duke Doris Duke (November 22, 1912 – October 28, 1993) was an American billionaire tobacco heiress, philanthropist, and socialite. She was often called "the richest girl in the world". Her great wealth, luxurious lifestyle, and love life attracted ...

made Demopoulos co-executor of her will, she later replaced him with

Bernard Lafferty Bernard Lafferty (14 April 1945 – 4 November 1996) was an Irish butler and heir to American tobacco heiress and philanthropist, Doris Duke. Duke hired Lafferty in 1987 and named him the executor of her $1.2 billion estate six months prior to h ...

. After Duke's death, Demopoulos and others sued to remove Lafferty. Demopoulos subsequently sat on the

board of trustees A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation established under the will.

Personal life

Dr. Demopoulos was also a friend of

, in whose films he appeared, and who also invested in his research for decades before Demopoulos's death on June 29, 2016.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Demopoulos, Harry 2016 deaths American medical researchers American male film actors Year of birth missing (living people) Date of birth unknown