The administration of malaria parasites to patients suffering from dementia paralytica marked a significant shift in twentieth-century psychiatric practice. Developed by Julius Wagner-Jauregg, this method of induced fever—known as pyrotherapy—sought to combat the debilitating effects of neurosyphilis. This unconventional intervention remains the most prominent contribution of the Austrian physician, eventually earning him the 1927 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Academic Foundation and Early Career
Born in Wels in 1857, Wagner-Jauregg completed his medical education at the University of Vienna between 1874 and 1880. He began his career at the Institute of General and Experimental Pathology before transitioning to psychiatry. In 1889, he moved to the University of Graz to lead the Neuro-Psychiatric Clinic, succeeding Richard von Krafft-Ebing. By 1893, he returned to Vienna to serve as the Director of the Clinic for Psychiatry and Nervous Diseases.
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Throughout his career, Wagner-Jauregg investigated the potential for high fevers to treat psychiatric disorders. His initial attempts with streptococci and tuberculin proved ineffective. In 1917, he began inoculating patients with Plasmodium vivax, a less aggressive malaria parasite. Because the induced malaria could be treated with quinine, the method was adopted for tertiary syphilis. Despite its effectiveness, the procedure carried a 15% mortality rate and was eventually abandoned.
Professional Controversies and Ideology
During World War I, Wagner-Jauregg utilized extreme electric shock therapy on soldiers suspected of malingering, leading to a criminal inquest. In his later years, he became a proponent of eugenics and forced sterilization, advocating for these measures while a member of the Austrian Anthropological Society. He also served as the President of the Austrian League for Racial Regeneration and Heredity, aligning himself with Nazi ideology after the 1938 German annexation of Austria.
Academic Recognition and Death
Wagner-Jauregg retired from his university duties in 1928 but continued his research, producing nearly 80 papers before his death in 1940. His professional contributions were recognized with the Cameron Prize of the University of Edinburgh in 1935. He held memberships in numerous organizations, including the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. He is buried at the Vienna Central Cemetery.
Fast facts
- Born: 1857, Wels, Austria
- Died: 1940, Vienna, Austria
- Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine: 1927
- Cameron Prize: 1935
- Primary Field: Neurology and Psychiatry
- Education: University of Vienna
- Burial Site: Vienna Central Cemetery
- Primary Treatment: Malariotherapy
Questions readers ask
Why was malariotherapy considered an acceptable treatment?
It was used to induce high, prolonged fevers in patients with terminal neurosyphilis and could be managed using the antimalarial drug quinine.
Did Wagner-Jauregg become a member of the Nazi Party?
He supported the Nazi Party after 1938, but his application for formal membership was denied by the party due to his first wife, Balbine Frumkin, being Jewish.
Achievements
- Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine — 1927
- Cameron Prize of the University of Edinburgh
- Held posts at University of Vienna and University of Graz
- Fields: medicine, psychiatry and neurology
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