Tracy Jackson Putnam (April 14, 1894 – March 29, 1975) among other things was a co-discoverer of

Dilantin Phenytoin (PHT), sold under the brand name Dilantin among others, is an anti-seizure medication. It is useful for the prevention of tonic-clonic seizures (also known as grand mal seizures) and focal seizures, but not absence seizures. The int ...

for controlling

epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable periods to long periods of vigorous shaking due to abnormal electrical ...

Education

Putnam graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher ...

in 1915, and then from

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools ...

in 1920.

Career

Putnam worked for the

Boston City Hospital The Boston City Hospital (1864–1996), in Boston, Massachusetts, was a public hospital, located in the South End. It was "intended for the use and comfort of poor patients, to whom medical care will be provided at the expense of the city, and . ...

and in the

New York Neurological Institute The Neurological Institute of New York, is an American hospital research center located at 710 West 168th Street at the corner of Fort Washington Avenue in the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital / Columbia University Medical Center in the Washington ...

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...

. He was promoted to director after his work with

phenytoin Phenytoin (PHT), sold under the brand name Dilantin among others, is an anti-seizure medication. It is useful for the prevention of tonic-clonic seizures (also known as grand mal seizures) and focal seizures, but not absence seizures. The intr ...

(

). In 1938, people including himself and H. Houston Merritt discovered phenytoin's usefulness for controlling seizures, without the sedative effects associated with

phenobarbital Phenobarbital, also known as phenobarbitone or phenobarb, sold under the brand name Luminal among others, is a medication of the barbiturate type. It is recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for the treatment of certain types of ep ...

. According to ''Goodman and Gilman's Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics'':

In contrast to the earlier accidental discovery of the antiseizure properties of
potassium bromide Potassium bromide ( K Br) is a salt, widely used as an anticonvulsant and a sedative in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with over-the-counter use extending to 1975 in the US. Its action is due to the bromide ion ( sodium bromide is equ ...
and phenobarbital, phenytoin was the product of a search among nonsedative structural relatives of phenobarbital for agents capable of suppressing electroshock convulsions in laboratory animals.

At his time there were quotas for Jewish physicians. He opposed the existence of the quotas. He was forced to resign from Columbia in 1947, maybe because of this. However, other sources mention a "personal tragedy" Putnam went through at that time (presumably the death of his daughter, Lucy Washburn Putnam, on September 24, 1947), after which he resigned from Columbia and abandoned all scientific activities. He treated Johnny Gunther for a brain tumor. Gunther’s eventual death from that tumor was written about by his father

John Gunther John Gunther (August 30, 1901 – May 29, 1970) was an American journalist and writer. His success came primarily by a series of popular sociopolitical works, known as the "Inside" books (1936–1972), including the best-selling '' Ins ...

in the 1949 book '' Death Be Not Proud''. In 1937, Putnam and

Alexandra Adler Alexandra Adler (24 September 1901 – 4 January 2001) was an Austrian neurologist and the daughter of psychoanalyst Alfred Adler. She has been described as one of the "leading systematizers and interpreters" of Adlerian psychology. Her sister ...

conducted a study about multiple sclerosis. The study was conducted on the brain of a multiple sclerosis victim, and resulted in new information on how the disease affected the human body. Illustrations from the study are frequently used in medical literature. Putnam was one of the first persons to propose, as early as the 1930s, a vascular cause for multiple sclerosis, resurrecting the previous works of

Eduard von Rindfleisch Georg Eduard von Rindfleisch (15 December 1836 – 6 December 1908) was a German pathologist and histologist. He was born in Köthen and died in Würzburg. Academic career He studied medicine in Würzburg, Berlin and Heidelberg, earning ...

. The idea remained obscure until the syndrome of

chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency Chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI or CCVI) is a term invented by Italian researcher Paolo Zamboni in 2008 to describe compromised flow of blood in the veins draining the central nervous system. Zamboni hypothesized that it migh ...

(CCSVI) was associated with multiple sclerosis in 2008. In 1963 Putnam had a small role in the science-fiction movie '' The Slime People''. He played a scientist and was not listed in the credits..

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Putnam, Tracy 1975 deaths 1894 births Harvard Medical School alumni Harvard University alumni Place of birth missing Place of death missing Nationality missing American neuroscientists 20th-century American physicians