Bengt A. Robertson
Born(1935-09-14)14 September 1935
Stockholm, Sweden
Died7 December 2008(2008-12-07) (aged 73)
NationalitySwedish
EducationKarolinska Institute
Known forCorusurf
Scientific career
ThesisThe intrapulmonary arterial pattern in normal infancy and in transposition of the great arteries (1968)

Bengt A. Robertson was a Swedish physician and perinatal pathologist. Robertson was primarily known for the development of the synthetic lung surfactant known as Corusurf that brought relief to very small babies suffering from infant respiratory distress syndrome (RDS).[1][2][3] From 1974 to 2000 he was the director of the division for experimental perinatal pathology in the department of women and child Health at the Karolinska Institute.

In 1996 he was awarded the King Faisal International Prize in Medicine together with Tetsurō Fujiwara for contributions to the understanding of neonatal medicine.[4][5]

Life

Robertson was born and grew up in Stockholm. As a child he attended the Södra Latins Gymnasium in the Södermalm area of Stockholm, leaving in 1953.[1] Having decided to become a physician, Robertson attended the Karolinska Institute, a medical universiy and graduated Master of Science in Medicine (Swedish: Läkarexamen) in 1960.[5] Robertson followed the MD with a Doctor of Philosophy degree and was awarded a doctorate in 1968. His thesis was titled: "The intrapulmonary arterial pattern in normal infancy and in transposition of the great arteries".[5]

Career

From 1974 to 2000 he was director the Division of Experimental Perinatal Pathology at the Karolinska Institute.[6]

Surfactant Research

When Robertson was a visiting professor at the University of Toronto in the department of pathology, he met the obstetrician Göran Enhörning who at the time was based at the Toronto Western Hospital. Enhörning who was also from Stockholm like Robertson, would became his principle collaborator.[7]

In January 1964 the first preliminary study on the use of synthetic surfactant beta-gamma-dipalmitoyl-L-alpha-lecithin (DPL) that was delivered by nebulizer to 11 infants with RDS.[8]

Two trials were conducted in that used nebulised synthetic surfactant that was composed of synthetic dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC), showed negative results in the treatment of RDS.


In 1972, Bengt and Enhörning developed research to discover the reasons for the failure of nebulised synthetic surfactant. They showed that when natural surfactant was installed directly into the trachea of premature rabbits took place, normal lung expansion was achieved, and the animals survived.[9]


In the autumn of 1984, Bengt became the leader of a group of neonatologist and surfactant researchers, known as the "The Collaborative European Multicenter Study Group", who were formed to test Curosurf in the first large international multicentre clinical trial.[2]

Honours

Robertson received many honours throughout his life. In 1996, he was first recognised when he was awarded the King Faisal International Prize.[5] Two years later in 1998, Robertson along with Tore Curstedt was awarded the Hilda and Alfred Eriksson Prize by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.[10] In 2002, he was awarded the Erich Saling Maternité Prize given by the European Association of Perinatal Medicine.[11] This was followed in 2004 with the awarding of the Lars Werkö Prize by the Swedish Heart Lung Foundation along with Tore Curstedt.[12] In 2023, Robertson was awarded the singular honour of having an award named after himself, when the European Academy of Paediatric Societies created the Bengt Robertson Award for research into the neonatal lung.

Publications

  • Robertson, Bengt; van Golde, Lambert M. G.; Batenburg, J. J. (1992). Pulmonary surfactant: from molecular biology to clinical practice. Amsterdam: Elsevier. ISBN 9780444894755.
  • Robertson, Bengt; Taeusch, H. William (1995). Surfactant therapy for lung disease. New York: Dekker. ISBN 9780824795023.

References

Citation

  1. 1 2 Halliday, Henry L.; Speer, Christian P. (2009). "Bengt Robertson (1935–2008): A Pioneer and Leader in Surfactant Research". Neonatology. 95 (2): VI–VIII. doi:10.1159/000197019.
  2. 1 2 Bohlin, K.; Blennow, M.; Curstedt, T (2009). "Historien om surfaktant - stor upptäckt för de minsta b" (PDF). Läkartidningen. sv. 106 (52): 3492–3495.
  3. ↑ Halliday, H.L.; Speer, C.P. (2002). "Laudatio Bengt Robertson: A Surfactant Pioneer". Neonatology. 82 (4): 272–273. doi:10.1159/000066325.
  4. ↑ "Professor Bengt A.Robertson". King Faisal Prize. 10 October 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Tait, Mr (2013-09-09). "Professor Bengt Robertson". Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
  6. ↑ Speer, C. P. (August 2009). "Prof. Bengt Robertson, Stockholm". Zeitschrift für Geburtshilfe und Neonatologie. 213 (4): 117. doi:10.1055/s-0029-1225636. S2CID 70450050.
  7. ↑ Cutz, Ernest; Wencer, David (2020). The Unsung Heroes of Paediatric Medicine: The History of the Department of Pathology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto (1888-2018). Victoria, Canada: FriesenPress. p. 41, 104. ISBN 978-1-5255-6134-4.
  8. ↑ ROBILLARD, E; ALARIE, Y; DAGENAIS-PERUSSE, P; BARIL, E; GUILBEAULT, A (11 January 1964). "Microaerosol administration of synthetic beta-gamma-dipalmitoyl-l-alpha-lecithin in the respiratory distress syndome: a preliminary report". Canadian Medical Association Journal. 90 (2): 55–7. PMC 1922135. PMID 14104151.
  9. ↑ Enhörning, Göran; Robertson, Bengt (1 July 1972). "Lung expansion in the premature rabbit fetus after tracheal deposition of surfactant". Pediatrics. 50 (1): 58–66. doi:10.1542/peds.50.1.58. PMID 4483194. S2CID 21760100.
  10. ↑ Halliday, Henry L.; Speer, Christian P. (1 September 2010). "Historical Perspectives". NeoReviews. 11 (9): e471–e473. doi:10.1542/neo.11-9-e471.
  11. ↑ "Erich Saling Maternity Prize". EAPM Association - About Us. Milan, Italy. p. en. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  12. ↑ Speer, Christian P.; Halliday, Henry L. (2014). "Tore Curstedt - The Basic Science Creator of Porcine Surfactant". Neonatology. 106 (3): 242–244. doi:10.1159/000365128. PMID 25300948.

Bibliography

  • Robertson, Bengt; Taeusch, H. William, eds. (19 July 1995). Surfactant therapy for lung disease. Lung biology in health and disease. Vol. 84. New York: Dekker. ISBN 978-0824795023.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.