Wilhelm Erb (1840-1921), an influential German founder of neurology in the nineteenth century.

As an internist, Wilhelm Erb (1840-1921) developed neurology (he also used the term "neuropathology" synonymously) in the tradition of his teacher, Nikolaus Friedreich, in Heidelberg. He left behind a huge corpus of semiological and nosological elements that now constitute our current knowledge of neurology, much more than just the eponyms associated with his name. In 1891, he founded the journal Zeitschrift für Nervenheilkunde [Journal of Neurology] together with internist-neurologist colleagues, thus creating the counterpart to the Archiv für Psychiatrie und Nervenkrankheiten [Archive for Psychiatry and Neurology], which was founded by Berlin neuropsychiatrists Wilhelm Griesinger and Carl Westphal. Despite his reservations about the Gesellschaft Deutscher Nervenärzte [Society of German Nerve Doctors], he was elected its first president in 1907. Erb was also one of the most important representatives of electrodiagnosis and therapy in Europe. He had many disciples who were part of the Heidelberg School of Neurology. His anti-Semitism-a widespread Zeitgeist phenomenon-was documented in several letters to his friend, neurologist Adolf von Strümpell, in which he expressed his contempt for the growing role of Jewish neurologists. Erb's retirement years were marked by illnesses, depression, and grief over the death of three of his sons.

Hermann Oppenheim, a pioneer of modern German neurology / Hermann Oppenheim, um pioneiro da moderna neurologia alemã

Hermann Oppenheim (1858-1919) was a leading fgure of the modern German neurology. In spite of the antisemitic ofcial policy, besides his complex personality, he had achieved widespread recognition of his professional qualifcation that attracted neurologists from all around the world to his private clinic. However, he did not held prominent positions at University milieu, in spite of being the main assistant to Karl Westphal (1833­1890) at the Charité-Hospital, in Berlin. Oppenheim was the author of an encyclopedic book of neurology titled "Lehrbuch der Nervenkrankheiten für Ärzte und Studierende" ("Textbook of Nervous Diseases for Doctors and Students"), frst ed., 1894. He also published signifcant works on several disorders, including "traumatic neurosis" (1889) that was criticized by Jean-Martin Charcot (1825­1893), among others. He was clinically responsible for the frst successful removal of brain tumors, including pineal tumor. He coined the term "dystonia musculorum deformans", and he led to several other achievements such as amyotonia congenita ("Oppenheim's disease"), besides Oppenheim's reflex.

Hermann Oppenheim (1858-1919) foi uma fgura importante da moderna neurologia alemã. Apesar da política ofcial anti-semita, além de sua personalidade complexa, ele alcançou amplo reconhecimento de sua qualifcação profssional que atraiu neurologistas de todo o mundo para sua clínica particular. No entanto, ele não ocupou posições de destaque no meio universitário, apesar de ser o principal assistente de Karl Westphal (1833-1890) no Charité-Hospital, em Berlim. Oppenheim foi o autor de um livro enciclopédico de neurologia intitulado "Lehrbuch der Nervenkrankheiten für Ärzte und Studierende" ("Livro Didático de Doenças Nervosas para Médicos e Alunos"), editado em 1894. Ele também publicou trabalhos signifcativos sobre vários distúrbios, incluindo "neurose traumática" ( 1889) que foi criticado por Jean-Martin Charcot (1825­1893), entre outros. Ele foi clinicamente responsável pela primeira remoção bem sucedida de tumores cerebrais, incluindo o tumor pineal. Ele cunhou o termo "distonia musculorumdeformans" e levou a outras várias conquistas como a amiotonia congênita ("doença de Oppenheim"), além do reflexo de Oppenheim.

[Hermann Oppenheim. Comments on his life and works]. / Hermann Oppenheim. Anmerkungen zu seinem Leben und Wirken.

The outstanding neurologist Hermann Oppenheim was renowned worldwide during his lifetime and was highly esteemed; however, he was also a contradictory, complex personality and his life was marked by several tragic events. Even for his contemporaries, his life and work was the subject of lively discussions and debates and also some 100 years later, it is an interesting challenge to obtain an insight into the extensive work of this famous man and to understand the reasons for his great successes and failures.

"Hirnsymptome bei Carcinomatose" - Hermann Oppenheim and an Early Description of a Paraneoplastic Neurological Syndrome.

Paraneoplastic neurological syndromes belong to the most enigmatic and fascinating disorders. Their remarkable clinical spectrum ranges from sensory neuronopathy to cerebellar degeneration or limbic encephalitis. We retrace the clinical and pathological description of a forgotten case published by Hermann Oppenheim in 1888, which to our knowledge represents the first report of a paraneoplastic neurological syndrome. The young Oppenheim used thorough observation and good clinical judgment to suggest a causal link between the seemingly mere association of an underlying malignancy and a neurological syndrome, decades before Denny-Brown's identification of sensory neuronopathy in 1948 and a century before the discovery of "anti-Hu" antibodies. Oppenheim anticipated that scientific progress was required to prove this link, and he indicated his finding as "a pointer for future observers." In this way, he leaves the reader with the fascinating question of which observations during our current neurology practice could be the next "pointers" in medical research.