Tribute to Professor Andrew J. Lees

Abstract

Professor Andrew John Lees, from the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, a neurological hospital in Queen Square, London, UK, has contributed in a stupendous way to the development of the field of movement disorders in Brazil, with a constant and intense participation in numerous congresses and scientific meetings of this specialty since 1983.

Resumo

O professor Andrew Lees, do National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, Londres, Reino Unido, tem contribuído de maneira estupenda para o desenvolvimento da área dos distúrbios do movimento no Brasil, com uma participação constante e intensa em inúmeros congressos e encontros científicos desta especialidade, desde o ano de 1983.

Keywords:

Neurology - movement disorders - Parkinson’s disease

Palavras-chave:

Neurologia - distúrbios do movimento - doença de Parkinson

Movement Disorders have been showing an exponential growth in the last 30 years. This growth and continuous interest is associated with better expertise in the clinical assessment of patients with movement disorders, the great advancement of genetics, as well as neuroimaging, and the development of new therapeutics[1]. In Brazil, the specialty of Neurology and the field of Movement Disorders were pioneered by Professor Antonio Austregesilo, from Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (1912)[2]. However, its consolidation as a thriving and autonomous area is mainly due to the studies of Professor Egberto Reis Barbosa, of Hospital das Clínicas of Universidade de São Paulo, and Luiz Augusto Franco de Andrade (from which was then Escola Paulista de Medicina, UNIFESP) in the 1980s. The exponential growth of movement disorders studies in Brazil had as a catalyst agent the participation of Professor Andrew J. Lees (National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London, UK). The main objective of this historical article is to review the contributions of Professor Andrew J. Lees to the area of Movement Disorders in Brazil.

ANDREW J. LEES - A SHORT BIOGRAPHY

Andrew John Lees ([Figure 1]) was born in the city of Merseyside, England, United Kingdom, in 1947. He received his medical degree from the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel and was trained in Neurology at the University College Hospital at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London, UK, and at Pitiè-Salpêtrière Hospital, Paris, France[ ³ ]. In 1987, along with Professor David Marsden, he founded the Queen Square Brain Bank for Neurological Disorders, later renamed the United Kingdom Brain Bank[3]. Lees was also the director of the Reta Lila Weston Institute of Neurological Studies at the University College London, from 1998-2012. Between 2002 and 2012, he was the director of the Sara Kow PSP Research Center[3]. Lees received numerous awards for his professional work in the field of Movement Disorders, including the American Academy of Neurology Movement Disorders Lifetime Achievement Award (2006); the Dingebauer Prize by the German Society of Neurology (2012); the Jay Van Andel Award (2014); the Association of British Neurologists medal (2015); and the Parkinson Canada's Donald Calne Award (2017). Professor Lees was also one of the co-founders of The International Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Society (MDS), as well as one of its presidents (2004-2006). He was editor-in-chief of the Movement Disorders Journal[3]. In 2011, Lees was considered the most prolific author of Parkinson's disease, with 23,000 citations since 1985 and eight classic citations on the subject[4],[5]. Similarly, he is recognized as one of the most cited neuroscientists in the world (ISI Highly Cited Researchers), with an H=104 index[3],[4],[5]. Among the numerous contributions of research on Parkinson's disease, one his studis, that created the most widely cited criteria for the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease must be highlighted[6]. There are also numerous other articles of great relevance, such as the identification of the syndrome of dopaminergic dysregulation, previously known as hedonistic homeostatic dysregulation in patients with PD, which is now often referred as Lees’ syndrome[7],[8],[9]. One should also remember Professor Lees' interest in tics and Tourette’s syndrome, and the publication of his book from 1985, considered a classic in this area, entitled “Tics and related disorders”[10]. Besides that, he published seven more books about neurological conditions, such as Parkinson’s disease (1982) and Alzheimer’s disease (2012). However, he has always been very eclectic in his interests as to books on medical history (William Richard Gowers 1845-1915, Exploring the Victorian Brain; 2012) and a homage to the former footballer, Ray Kennedy (Ray of Hope, 2011)[11],[12]. More recently, he has embarked on a career as a writer of non-medical issues, having published The Hurricane port, A social history of Liverpool (2011), and Mentored by a Madman, and the William Burroughs experiment (2016) ([Figure 2])[3],[13],[14].

Figure 1 Professor Andrew John Lees (1947- ).(Extracted from Google images, February, 2019).

Figure 2 Professor Andrew Lees - Presentation based on the book Mentored by a Madman. Meeting of the Brazilian Society of Neurological Investigation / Brazilian Congress of Neurology - 2016.(Figure extracted from the author’s collection).

ANDREW LEES AND BRAZIL

Since his childhood, it is noteworthy that Professor Lees has had great interest in Brazilian issues. They include his dreams about the Amazon rainforest; his strong connection with soccer, including his extreme admiration for the player Garrincha and the team of Botafogo Football and Regattas. Professor Lees has a close scientific relationship with Brazil. Since 1983, he has participated as a speaker on Movement Disorders in roughly 55 official events, including congresses of the Brazilian Academy of Neurology, national meetings on Movement Disorders, and regional symposia in different Brazilian states (Lees, personal communication). In the country, he received several commendations, including the title of Honorary Overseas member of the Brazilian Academy of Medicine, Visiting Professor of Hospital São Rafael, Salvador City, Brazil, and Universidade Federal do Ceará, and Emeritus Member of the Brazilian Society of Neurological Investigation ([Figure 3])[3]. Professor Lees was the first neurologist with expertise in Movement Disorders to carry out a training course in the use of botulinum toxin for the treatment of focal dystonia in Brazil, in 1990 (Horta, personal communication). Lees also spearheaded the creation of the link between the Brazilian Academy of Medicine and the British Association of Neurology[15]. Professor Lees has lectured in almost all national Movement Disorders meetings organized by GERIN (Study Group and Recycling in Neurology) since 1999 ([Figure 4]). Likewise, Professor Lees is a constant presence in the meetings of the Scientific Department of Movement Disorders of the Brazilian Academy of Neurology. The presence of Professor Lees in all these events unleashed a great interest among Brazilian neurologists. This has been a major contributing factor to the exponential growth of the interest in Movement Disorders by Neurology Residents and academicians ([Figure 5]). In the period in which Professor Lees visited Brazil, he published 82 articles along with several Brazilian neurologists. Professor Lees has also received several Brazilian neurologists as Fellows since the 1980s.

Figure 3 Professor Andrew Lees being awarded the title of Emeritus Member of the Brazilian Society of Neurological Investigation by Professor Viviane Flumignan Zétola, 2016.(Figure extracted from the author’s collection).

Figure 4 1^st National Meeting on Movement Disorders, Ouro Preto City, Minas Gerais State, 1999 - Professor Lees and Brazilian Neurologists.(Figure extracted from the author’s collection).

Figure 5 Professor Lees (5^th from the left to the right) and Professor Francisco Cardoso (6^th) during an informal lunch with young Brazilian Neurologists (neurology residents and movement disorders fellows, including another author: Alex Meira, 2^nd from right to left), which occurred in 2018, during the Brazilian Congress of Neurology.(Figure extracted from the author’s collection).

CONCLUSIONS

In the last 35 years, Professor Lees has contributed in an incredible way to the development of the area of movement disorders in Brazil, with a constant and intense participation in numerous congresses and scientific meetings on this specialty.

Conflicts of interest:

There are no conflicts of interest to declare.

• References

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Publication History

Received: 01 July 2019

Accepted: 09 July 2019

Article published online:
13 June 2023