History National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

1 history

1.1 impetus creation
1.2 creation
1.3 1951–1968: strong political alliances , adding stroke
1.4 1968–1980
1.5 1980s
1.6 1990s
1.7 2000s

history
impetus creation

the ninds created in 1950 study , treat neurological , psychiatric casualties of world war ii. many service people had returned serious brain injuries, nerve damage, , psychic trauma. according 1 estimate, neurologically disabled veterans in postwar years accounted 25 percent of patients in general hospitals , 10 percent of in psychiatric hospitals . in addition, 1.7 million american men had been rejected military service due neuropsychiatric condition or learning disorder.

ninds created part of effort revive extinct neurological field . @ time, psychiatry , focus on emotional tensions due interpersonal, social, , cultural maladjustments held sway in medicine, while neurology, focus on inner workings of brain, had fallen out of favor. during wwii of administrative positions of armed services filled psychiatrists. after war, survey veteran s administration of members of american board of psychiatry , neurology found 48 neurologists , 456 psychiatrists.

in 1948, abe b. baker, chair of neurology , psychiatry @ university of minnesota, formed american academy of neurology (aan) give young neurologists national organization join. however, sustained research in neurology not possible without national institute. in late 1940s , 1950s, vocal american neurological association (ana) members testified before congress, arguing there needed such institute. articulated arguments had been made on smaller scale citizens groups diseases such multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, epilepsy, , blindness.

members of research grants committee of national institute of mental health (nimh), had been founded in 1949, contend helped provide impetus new institute, when reviewing grant applications saw significant number of neurological projects , proposed separate institute them.

creation

mary lasker helped sen. claude pepper present case government national institute cancer, heart disease, , neurological disorders. collected data , found experts.

the national institute of neurological disorders , blindness (nindb), original name ninds, officially established on november 22, 1950, 3 months after president harry truman signed omnibus medical research act (public law 81-692) on august 15, 1950. legislation had been passed efforts of senator claude pepper, responsible helping majority of nih institutes start, wealthy new york entrepreneur mary lasker, , fight sight founder mildred weisenfeld, had retinitis pigmentosa.

nindb not conceived of entirely coherently @ beginning. example, blindness added because concerned citizens raised issue lasker who, in turn asked congressman andrew biemiller in congress. added bill, being sympathetic cause since mother blind.

nindb responsible conducting , supporting research , training in 200 neurological , sensory disorders affected 20 million individuals in united states , first cause of permanent crippling , third cause of death. because etiology of common neurological diseases poorly understood, nindb undertook both clinical , basic research on disorders , on treatments; intramural research on structure of brain , nervous system itself; and, finally, extramural research on entire field of neurology , blindness.

in beginning, nindb had advisory council made of 6 medical professional , lay people, appointed u. s. surgeon general. formulated path taken institute , granted funds. nindb s first annual budget us$1.23 million. came existing nih budget, congress had not appropriated new funds institute when created. although nindb s budget increased $1.99 million in 1952, there still no money new research programs. moreover, institute had neither clinic nor lab. ingrid farreras writes in history, research conducted institute still supported nimh [national institute of mental health] , institute s survival unclear.

the nindb s first director, pearce bailey, appointed on october 3, 1951, , came experience neuropsychiatry division @ philadelphia naval hospital. appointed representative aan meet citizens groups , met generate unified set of demands. result, national committee research in neurological disorders (ncrnd) formed. ncrnd presented coherent research proposal congress , in 1953 nindb received separate line item budget of $4.5 million. institute able fund research. however, until 1961, nindb , nimh shared research facilities , scientists, collaborating on projects.

1951–1968: strong political alliances , adding stroke

pearce bailey, first director of nindb, son of pearce bailey, 1 of founders of new york neurological institute.

bailey established extramural grants , field investigations retrolental fibroplasia, geographic deistribution of multiple sclerosis, , projects related mental retardation , cerebral palsy. in 1955, u.s. senator john f. kennedy announced, organization united cerebral palsy, institute planning launch all-out attack against dread spectre of cerebral palsy . 1959, study @ how gestation affected cerebral palsy had been started.

during 1950s, mary lasker, senator lister hill , representative john e. fogarty ensured continued financial support nindb. together, 2 congressmen held hearings establish nih budget , lobbied hard more funds. assisted lasker, had extensive washington connections , aided mike gorman, journalist , promoter of mental health. new director of nih, james shannon, politically astute man had ability pick talented scientists, helped solidify became golden years of science @ nih . shannon, fogarty, hill, , lasker working together, nih s budget whole increased more tenfold between 1955 , 1965. directly benefited nindb, budget rose , fell along general budget.

throughout 1960s, under directorship of richard l. masland, nindb sponsored ground-breaking research of carleton gajdusek , joseph gibbs. gajdusek won nobel prize work on kuru in new guinea. nindb set clinical research centers @ several universities targeted research programs, such head injury program , epilepsy initiative.

stroke added institute s mandate in 1960s , in october 1968 institute became national institute of neurological diseases , stroke . lasker prompted address disease when joseph p. kennedy, father of then-president john f. kennedy had one. convinced him stroke commission idea , agreed michael e. debakey director. after kennedy assassinated, approached president lyndon johnson, established president s commission on heart disease, cancer , stroke in 1964 debakey @ head. commission produced report resulted in bill being passed in 1965 established centers diseases across country. in history of ninds, rowland explains authorities later doubted had lasting impact on stroke theory or therapy. example, notes, illustrates tension between advocates of basic research , wanted immediate application . johnson , lasker wanted see people benefit right away while director of nih, shannon, , other scientists more cautious using knowledge did not understand , skeptical of disease-of-the-month approach . had bedrock belief in importance of basic science .

the political alliance between shannon, lasker, fogarty, , hill began splinter @ end of 1960s. in 1967 when wrote 20-year history of nih, shannon did not mention lasker s contributions. 1968, fogarty had died , hill , johnson had declined run reelection. election of richard nixon, tone of research funding changed.

in general, according rowland, there feeling vision research not being adequately @ nindb . in 1967, bill create separate eye institute drafted, , in august 1968, federal legislation created national eye institute, build enlarged program based on blindness research had been conducted nindb.

1968–1980

starting in late 1960s, budget of nih whole reduced, affected ninds. training programs cut. president richard nixon s administration directed institutes work more aggressively on applied research , projects directly affect patients. natalie spingarn argues in book politics of health research nixon administration resisted scientists did not politically sympathetic president. shannon has described years between 1967 , 1970 time of progressive constraints : budgetary process chaotic , presidential vetoes, overrides congress, proposed recission of funds allocated, acceptance or rejection of these recissions congress, impoundment of appropriations, , later release court action . in general, increases in nih budget during 1970s , 1980s did not exceed inflation. edward f. macnichol, director of ninds between 1968 , 1973 described tenure end of long period of nih prosperity . rowland writes these years of financial insecurity may have been difficult time in history of ninds . however, notes achievements made well. example, king engel , team discovered prednisone treat myasthenia gravis , acetazolamide shown prevent periodic paralysis.

in march 1975 institute again renamed, becoming national institute of neurological , communicative disorders , stroke (nincds).

1980s

in november 1988, of nincds s research moved newly created national institute on deafness , other communication disorders, , nincds renamed national institute of neurological disorders , stroke, current name.

1990s

during 1990s, senators arlen specter , tom harkin responsible pushing large increase in nih budget whole. doubled in 5 years , subsequent years saw annual increases of 15 percent.

2000s

the ninds budget passed $1 billion first time in fiscal 2000; bulk of budget dedicated extramural research , investigator-initiated grants (intramural research accounts 10 percent of total).