Professor Charles David Marsden

CORRESPONDENCE

Professor Charles David Marsden

TO THE EDITOR

On September 29^th, 1998, Professor C.D. Marsden died unexpected and prematurely at the age 60 years.^1-3 Professor Marsden was considered at the time, one of the most important and productive clinical neuroscientists and his scientific contributions in the field of movement disorders were outstanding landmarks. He was one of the 10 most cited biomedical scientists worldwide with 1070 publications with emphasis on the physiology of movement, dystonia, myoclonus, tremor and Parkinson's disease, including the first descriptions of new movement disorders such as painful legs/moving toes syndromes, abdominal dyskinesias, reticular reflex myoclonus, cortical myoclonus, propriospinal myoclonus, gait ignition failure and primary writing tremor.^1-4 Among his several classic papers was the one entitled "Mysterious motor function of the basal ganglia: the Robert Wartemberg Lecture", a cornerstone at the time, remaining to this day as one of the most cited papers in the field.⁵ Professor Marsden was the founder, along with Professor S. Fahn, of the Movement Disorders Society, as well as the editor of the Movement Disorders Journal and the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.^1-3

During the last few years, the field of movement disorders has advanced tremendously, particularly due to the recent enlightenment coming from neurogenetics, molecular biology, neuro-imaging and also neurophysiology; the contributions of Professor Marsden, however, remain alive and au courant. During the latest edition of the International Congress of the Movement Disorders Society, in June 2008 in Chicago, several eminent authorities in this area recalled and recognized the diverse contributions left by the great master from Queen Square.

Ten years after his passing, it is fundamental to remember the seminal contributions of this outstanding neuroscientist, an icon of the 20^th century in the field of neuroscience.

Paraphrasing the disciples of Charcot, E. Brissau and Pierre Marie, in the article published in 1893 in the Revue Neurologique, entitled "Nécrologie de J-Martin Charcot", we can say that "recognition is the sweetest sensation" ^6.

Hélio A.G. Teive

Renato Puppi Munhoz

Movement Disorders Unit / Neurology Service

Internal Medicine Department

Hospital de Clínicas/Federal University of Paraná

e-mail: [e-mail]

• 1. Fahn S. Professor C.David Marsden. Arch Neurol 1999; 56:119-120.
• 2. Lang AE. Professor Charles David Marsden. Neurology 1999; 52:14-15.
• 3. Lees AJ. C. David Marsden (April 15, 1938-September 29, 1998). Mov Disord 1999; 14:3-5.
• 4. Marsden CD. The mysterious motor function of the basal ganglia: the Robert Wartemberg Lecture. Neurology 1982; 32: 514-539.
• 5. Teive HA, Zavala JA, Iwamoto FM, Sá D, Carraro H Jr, Werneck LC. Contributions of Charcot and Marsden to the development of movement disorders in the 19^th and 20^th centuries. Arq Neuropsiquiatr 2001; 59:633-636.
• 6. Brissaud E, Marie P. Nécrologie. J-M Charcot. Rev Neurol 1893; 16:29-30.

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  05 June 2009
• Date of issue
  June 2009