Gertrud Hurler, née Zach (1 September 1889 – 1965), was a German
pediatrician
Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until th ...
who wrote up a disease that came to be known as
Hurler syndrome
Hurler syndrome, also known as mucopolysaccharidosis Type IH (MPS-IH), Hurler's disease, and formerly gargoylism, is a genetic disorder that results in the buildup of large sugar molecules called glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) in lysosomes. The inabi ...
and a lesser version which is known as
Hurler–Scheie syndrome
Hurler–Scheie syndrome is a genetic disorder caused by the buildup of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) in various organ tissues. It is a cutaneous condition, also characterized by mild mental retardation and corneal clouding. Respiratory problems, sleep ...
.
Life
Gertrud Hurler was born in
Taberwiese
Taborzec is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Barciany, within Kętrzyn County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland, close to the border with the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia. It lies approximately south of Barciany, ...
,
East Prussia
East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label= Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1 ...
,
German Empire (now Taborzec,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...
) on 1 September 1889. She was educated in
Königsberg
Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was na ...
, East Prussia (now Kaliningrad, Russia), before getting her
M.D.
Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...
degree at the
University of Munich
The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: link=no, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of ...
. She married Konrad Hurler, a
veterinary surgeon
Veterinary surgery is surgery performed on animals by veterinarians, whereby the procedures fall into three broad categories: orthopaedics (bones, joints, muscles), soft tissue surgery (skin, body cavities, cardiovascular system, GI/urogenital/ ...
, in 1914 and they had a daughter and a son together. Her example inspired her husband to get his own medical certificate. During her post-graduate training in pediatrics at
Hauner Children's Hospital, she observed two infants that displayed symptoms of
cornea
The cornea is the transparent front part of the eye that covers the iris, pupil, and anterior chamber. Along with the anterior chamber and lens, the cornea refracts light, accounting for approximately two-thirds of the eye's total optical ...
l clouding, dwarfing skeletal
dysplasia
Dysplasia is any of various types of abnormal growth or development of cells ( microscopic scale) or organs (macroscopic scale), and the abnormal histology or anatomical structure(s) resulting from such growth. Dysplasias on a mainly microscopi ...
, spinal misalignment, and
mental retardation
Intellectual disability (ID), also known as general learning disability in the United Kingdom and formerly mental retardation, Rosa's Law, Pub. L. 111-256124 Stat. 2643(2010). is a generalized neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by signif ...
. Previously known as
gargoylism or lipochondrodystrophy, the disease was named after her, despite the initial report being given by her chief, Professor von Pfaundler, to the
Munich Pediatric Society
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...
. Hurler wrote up the case in german: Über einen Typ multipler Abartungen, vorwiegend am Skelettsystem that was published in the ''Zournal Kinderheilk'' in 1919. That same year she started a private practice as a pediatrician in Neuhausen that lasted until her death in 1965.
[Ogilvie & Harvey, p. 1299]
Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hurler, Gertrud
1889 births
1965 deaths
German pediatricians
Women pediatricians