This was his cardinal contribution.
Bouchardat’s bestseller was his “pocketbook,” Nouveau formulaire magistrale, a succinct compendium of pharmacology which, continued by his son Gustave Bouchardat, was published in 37 editions until 1932. He summarized the treatment of diabetes in the third edition in 1845 as follows: “Decrease the intake of carbohydrates, recommend beef, eggs and fish and vegetables, everything in moderate quantity. One to two liters of wine per day. If no problems with hemorrhoids: opium” [4].
Less known in the diabetes world is his main publication as a Professor of Hygiene: Traité d’hygiène publique et privée, basée sur l’étiologie [5]. Over more than 1,100 pages, this book covers all aspects of disease prevention and is written in an accessible style that made it a tremendous success with the public. The book is expressed with a very human touch and its many amusing stories reveal Bouchardat’s sense of humor and his art de vivre. In the chapter on nutrition, Bouchardat recommends oysters to be included in the diabetic diet, but he does not forget to add that they should be accompanied by bread, butter, and a good glass of Chablis to form a complete meal [5]. He criticizes vehemently the education of children, particularly in catholic schools, where he says sports and exercise are totally neglected. He continues to be even more anticlerical against education provided by the catholic church: “Exaggerated religious exercises lead the ardent or docile natures entrusted to them either to hypocrisy or mystical celibacy.” Also – still partly true today – he mentions that children do not learn anything about a healthy nutrition and hygiene, instead they have to know the useless dates of birth of the Merovingian kings. Bouchardat recommends sexual intercourse every 2nd day for young people and he criticizes celibacy. He urged the French to abolish celibacy; in his opinion, the families of Protestant pastors in Germany with their numerous well-educated children produced excellent German soldiers and he states that this was one of the causes of superiority of Prussia’s army in the war of 1870–1871 [5].
Politically, Bouchardat was a democrat, which was not easy in a time when “Napoleon le petit” was ruling France. In one public lecture entitled “On Poverty,” he demanded more financial support for the working class [6].
Like his contemporary Claude Bernard, Bouchardat always spent his holidays in his native Burgundy in the village of Girolles near Avallon. From his first salary in the Hotel Dieu he had bought a large vineyard next to his mother’s house in Girolles. Like Claude Bernard, he cultivated this vineyard and produced an excellent pinot noir. The vines fell victim to the phylloxera disaster, but the estate is still owned today by the numerous descendants of Bouchardat, who meet regularly in this property, owned by the family for two centuries. On the occasion of Apollinaire’s 200th birthday celebration, the street in which this house is located was renamed Rue Bouchardat [1].
Wise men foresee the future. Apollinaire Bouchardat wrote in 1866: “At a time which may not be as distant as we believe, Europe will form one big republic and the only rivalry among the states will consist of the struggle to develop and to perfect agriculture, trade, science, art and literature” [5]. He was not alone in his generation in believing that scientific progress might soon lead to the development of social welfare and a peaceful Europe. Sadly, his aspirations were far ahead of their time, but we are now fortunate that our own generation has the unique opportunity to translate his dream of a “big European republic” into reality.
References
1Delaporte E: Deux éminent savants et académiciens: Apollinaire Bouchardat et son fils Gustave Bouchardat. Bull Soc d’Études d’Avallon 2009;150:44–59.
2Joslin EP: Apollinaire Bouchardat. Diabetes 1952;1:490–491.
3Bouchardat A: De la glycosurie ou Diabète sucré son traitement hygiénique, ed 2. Paris, Libraire Germer Baillière, 1883.
4Bouchardat A: Nouveau formulaire magistrale. Paris, Germer Baillère, 1845.
5Bouchardat A: Traité d’hygiène publique et privée, basée sur l’étiologie. Paris, Librairie Germer Ballière, 1881.
6Bouchardat A: Entretiens populaires. Évariste Thévenin. Paris, Libraire De L. Hachette, 1865.
Dr. Viktor Jörgens
Fuhlrottweg 15
DE–40591 Düsseldorf (Germany)
Jörgens V, Porta M (eds): Unveiling Diabetes - Historical Milestones in Diabetology. Front Diabetes. Basel, Karger, 2020, vol 29, pp 40–50 (DOI: 10.1159/000506549)
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Oskar Minkowski and the Discovery of Pancreatic Diabetes
Viktor Jörgens
Executive Director EASD/EFSD 1987–2015, Düsseldorf, Germany
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Abstract
Oskar Minkowski was nominated six times for the Nobel Prize. He can be called the “grandfather of the discovery of insulin” since in 1889 he discovered that the removal of the pancreas in dogs induced diabetes mellitus. The presentation of this discovery together with his senior colleague Freiherr Josef von Mering was the highlight of the first world congress of physiology in 1889. Minkowski was born 1858 in the Lithuanian city of Kaunas. His family immigrated to Königsberg in Prussia, where he studied medicine. Prof. Bernhard Naunyn became supervisor of his thesis and Minkowski followed him to Strasbourg in 1988. Finally, in 1909, Minkowski was nominated in the prominent University of Breslau, the capital of Silesia, where he worked until his retirement in 1926. During his time in Breslau, Minkowski became one of the leaders of German Internal Medicine and chaired the first German insulin committee. When the German government decided to send a team of the best German physicians to Moscow to support the care of Lenin, Minkowski was one of those chosen. Prof. Oskar Minkowski died near Berlin on June 18, 1931.
© 2020 S. Karger AG, Basel
One hundred years after the discovery of pancreatic diabetes, Rolf Luft stated in Diabetologia: “Undoubtedly Oscar Minkowski contributed one of the most important discoveries to diabetes research. To my mind, Minkowski presented the first proof of the impact of the pancreas in diabetes, and that the disease was a consequence of the lack of a pancreatic substance transported by the blood stream. This work was the real impetus for all latter work to extract insulin. It was certainly an original discovery, and the most important one in the history of diabetes” [1].
The story begins in Kaunas, the second largest city in Lithuania. As you leave the old city center to cross the “quiet river” Nemunas (“Memel” in German) towards the suburb of Alexotas which, before World War II, was home to a mainly Jewish community,