1. George Huntington, MD (1850 – 1916)
History of Neurology
George Huntington, MD
(1850 – 1916)
The Impact of A Case Report
Richard J. Barohn, MD
The University of Kansas Medical Center

2. George Huntington, MD 1850-1916 Born East Hampton, Long Island, NY
Med School in Columbia – 1871
Briefly practiced with his father in NY before moving to Pomeroy, OH
Not a Neurologist! But a Family Physician
Based on NY practice experience wrote paper on chorea
Edited by his father
Read paper at Meiga and Mason Academy of Medicine in Middleport, OH
Published in Medical and Surgical Reporter
On Chorea. Med Surg Rep 1872;24:
Returned to NY, practiced till age 65, died age 66

3. George Huntington, MD On Chorea – 1872
Huntington’s only contribution to neurologic literature
Described family in NY with hereditary chorea, onset adult, became insane, often suicidal
Osler: “In a postscript to an everyday sort of article on chorea minor he descries graphically in three or four paragraphs the characters of a chronic form which he, his father, and grandfather had observed in Long Island” 1893
“In the history of medicine there are few instances in which a disease has been more accurately, more graphically, or more briefly described.” 1908

4. George Huntington
1910: Huntington G; Recollections of Huntington’s chorea as I saw it at East Hampton, Long Island, during my boyhood. J Nerv Ment Dis, 37:
Speech to New York Neurological society
Stated without the facts and observations handed down to him by his grandfather and father, he could never have formulated a picture of the salient characteristics of the disease so true and so complete as to make it a so-called classic

5. George Huntington, MD Lecture to NY Neurological Society 1909
“Over 50 years ago, riding with my father on his professional rounds, I saw my first case of “that disorder,” which was the way in which the natives always referred to the dreaded diseases. It made a most enduring impression upon my boyish mind, an impression every detail of which I recall today, an impression which was the very first impulse to my choosing chorea as my virgin contribution to medical lore. We suddenly came upon two women, mother and daughter, both tall, thin, almost cadaverous, both bowing, twisting, grimacing. I stared in wonderment, almost in fear. What could it mean? My father paused to speak with them and we passed on. Then my Gamaliel-like instruction began; my medical institution had its inception. From this point on my interest in the disease has never wholly ceased.”

6. What Does Gamaliel Mean?
Teacher
Hebrew name meaning reward of God
Jewish tradition: Rabban Gamaliel I, was a leading authority in the Sanhedrin in the early 1st century AD.
Christian tradition: Gamaliel is recognized as a Pharisee doctor of Jewish Law. The Acts of the Apostles chapter 5 speaks of Gamaliel as a man, held in great esteem by all Jews, who spoke to not condemn the apostles of Jesus in Acts 5:34