Experimental nephritis: one of the earliest publications on the subject by a pioneer of Neohippocratism.
From the beginning of the 20th century, cumulative experimental work has provided considerable evidence for the possible immune mechanisms by which certain diffuse glomerular diseases develop. The first classic well-documented studies are attributed to Masugi and his research team (1933), whose experimental model involved the induction of glomerulonephritis by the administration of antikidney sera. However, 23 years earlier, in 1910, Alexander Cawadias had published a monograph on the same subject, for which he was honored with the Medal of the Paris University School of Medicine. In his study, Cawadias concluded that the mechanism of experimental nephritis was multifactorial and that the progression and the aggravation of uremic disease was caused by the production of nephrotoxins and/or antibodies against renal tissue. Cawadias referred to 'a new colloid substance', a kind of autoantibody in the context of anaphylaxis; he can be credited with foreseeing the modern era of the autosensitivity and immunology of renal diseases. Although Cawadias is well-known as a pioneer of Neohippocratism, his contribution to experimental nephritis has not been amply appreciated; he merits better recognition as one of the pathfinders in the field of renal immunopathogenesis.
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Athens University Medical School, Athens, Greece.
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D000818:Animals; D004739:England; D006115:Greece; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D009393:Nephritis / Q000209:etiology / Q000266:history*; D010686:Philosophy, Medical / Q000266:history