Ruth Kajander (15 August 1924- 8 November 2019) was a psychiatrist and pioneer in the use of

chlorpromazine Chlorpromazine (CPZ), marketed under the brand names Thorazine and Largactil among others, is an antipsychotic medication. It is primarily used to treat psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia. Other uses include the treatment of bipolar d ...

as a treatment for

schizophrenia Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, thought disorder, disorganized thinking and behavior, and Reduced affect display, f ...

Early life

Ruth Kajander was born Ruth Elisabeth Emilia Auguste Koeppe in Goettingen, Germany in 1924. She was the daughter of Else (née Corman) and Hanskurt Koeppe and had two younger brothers. In her teenage years, during the Second World War, she fled Berlin on bicycle to return to her hometown. In 1948, she completed medical school at

Giessen University University of Giessen, official name Justus Liebig University Giessen (), is a large public research university in Giessen, Hesse, Germany. It is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in the German-speaking world. It is named afte ...

. In 1957, she married Aatto Arthur Kajander with whom she had one child.

Career

Kajander became the first female intern at the

Oshawa General Hospital Lakeridge Health Oshawa, formerly Oshawa General Hospital, is a hospital located in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in August 1910 in a two-story building, and major additions were made in the 1920s (surgical and maternity wings). "G" Wing ...

in 1953. That same year, she learned about the pre-anesthetic chlorpromazine. She realized that the drug sedated patients without putting them to sleep, which opened up the possibility of reducing tension and overactivity in patients with mental illnesses. She administered the drug at the London Psychiatric Hospital in Ontario. This trial involved 25 patients, mostly with symptoms of overactive

catatonic Catatonia is a complex syndrome most commonly seen in people with underlying mood disorders, such as major depressive disorder, or psychotic disorders, such as schizophrenia. People with catatonia exhibit abnormal movement and behaviors, wh ...

schizophrenia. She noted that the drug was effective in improving their quality of life. Although she was the first person in North America to test this drug on psychiatric patients, credit for this contribution went to

Heinz Lehmann Heinz Edgar Lehmann (July 17, 1911 – April 7, 1999) was a German-born Canadian psychiatrist best known for his use of chlorpromazine for the treatment of schizophrenia in 1950s and "truly the father of modern psychopharmacology." Early life ...

who was conducting his research around the same time. Kajander presented her findings in November 1953 at the regular meeting of the Ontario Neuropsychiatric Association, months before Lehmann’s first publication. She did not receive formal recognition because her work was not published. Later in her life, Kajander went on to become the first female president of the Ontario Psychiatric Association in 1982. She was also one of the first women to be involved in the

Ontario Medical Association The Ontario Medical Association (OMA) is a membership organization that represents the political, clinical and economic interests of Ontario physicians. Practising physicians, Residency (medicine), residents, and Medical school, medical students en ...

Awards

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

(2011) * Order of the Lion, Knight First Class

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kajander, Ruth 1924 births 2019 deaths People from Göttingen University of Giessen alumni German emigrants to Canada 20th-century Canadian women physicians 20th-century Canadian physicians Canadian psychiatrists Canadian women psychiatrists