Should eponyms be actively detached from diseases?

Abstract

The use of eponymous titles for diseases is a hallowed tradition that conforms to no pattern, but the practice serves both as a shorthand way of referring to complex and poorly-understood syndromes, and an acknowledgment of those who described them. There are many instances, however, in which the name associated with the disease is not that of the first, or even the most significant person involved in its description, and the only reasons for continuing with the label are pragmatism and convenience. Eponyms might lapse from regular use over time or as a result of advances in medical knowledge. But in some circumstances, there is a more specific reason to discourage their use, as in the case of Reiter's syndrome. 1 Lu DW Katz KA Declining use of the eponym “Reiter's syndrome” in the medical literature, 1998–2003. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2005; 53: 720-723 Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (36) Google Scholar Hans Reiter (1881–1969) was certainly not the first person to describe postinfective inflammatory mucositis and arthritis, but the main reason behind the move to dissociate his name from the condition is that he is known to have been a high-ranking physician in the Nazi era. Reiter was an enthusiastic supporter of eugenics, and guilty of causing death by experimental infection with typhus of prisoners in concentration camps. 2 Wallace DJ Weisman MH The physician Hans Reiter as prisoner of war in Nuremberg: a contextual review of his interrogations (1945–1947). Semin Arthritis Rheum. 2003; 32: 208-230 Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (27) Google Scholar A similar, but rather less clear cut, example forms the subject of the Eponym article in this week's Lancet: Friedrich Wegener and the granulomatous vasculitis which he studied in the 1930s. 3 Woywodt A Haubitz M Haller H Matteson EL Wegener's granulomatosis. Lancet. 2006; 367: 1362-1366 Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (92) Google Scholar Wegener's granulomatosisWegener's granulomatosis is a multisystem disorder characterised by necrotising granulomatous inflammation and pauci-immune small-vessel vasculitis.1,2 The prevalence in Europe is estimated to be five per 100 000; the disease occurs more frequently in northern latitudes but the cause of this skewed distribution is unknown. Most patients have initial upper airway symptoms, such as nasal discharge, sinusitis, or epistaxis. The granulomatous inflammatory process can destroy the septum and cause saddle nose deformity. Full-Text PDF