Abstract
Miklós (Nicholas) “Jancsó was undoubtedly the greatest genius of post World War II Hungarian biomedical sciences,” noted Professor Szentágothai in his introductory remarks to a symposium on “Capsaicin and the sensory system” held in Budapest in 1985.1 It is not possible to give here even a superficial account of N. Jancsó’s scientific achievements. Instead, the intention of the present author is to draw attention to some interesting aspects of his investigations and to show that, despite the apparent diversity of the fields of medical research in which he was involved, his work is characterized by a remarkable unbroken thematic continuity. This is also emphasized in the excellent book by Professor B. Issekutz senior,2 in which he wrote about the life and work of Jancsó and his father, N. Jancsó senior, who was a renowned malaria researcher and Director of the Department of Internal Medicine at the Kolozsvár (now Cluj, Rumania) and later on at Szeged University. Professor Issekutz was himself an outstanding pharmacologist, who headed the Pharmacology Department at Szeged and later at Budapest University. He greatly appreciated the brilliance of his young colleague and supported him in his career in many ways. He established a chemotherapy division for Jancsó in the Pharmacology Department at Szeged University after he had completed a successful Fellowship at the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin in 1931. In the pre-war period of his scientific career, Jancsó made a significant contribution to the understanding of the mechanisms involved in the action of chemotherapeutic agents, as will be mentioned briefly in this article.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
J. Szolcsányi, Miklós Jancsó, 1903–1966, Acta Physiol Hung. 69:263(1987).
B. Issekutz, sen., Id. Jancsó Miklós és irj. Jancsó Miklós, a két orvostudós. (Nicholas Jancsó, sen., and Nicholas Jancsó, jr., the two medical scientists.) Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest.
N. Jancsó, Eine neue histochemische Methode zur biologischen Untersuchung des Salvarsan und verwandter Arsenobenzolderivate, Z. ges.exp.Med. 61:63(1928).
N. Jancsó, Wirkungsmechanismus der Chemotherapeutica bei Trypanosen, Klin. Wschr. 11:1305 (1932).
N. Jancsó and H. Jancsó, Chemotherapeutische Wirkung und Kohlenhydratstoffwechsel. Die Heilwirkung von Guanindinderivaten auf die Trypanosomeninfektion, Z. Immunitatsforsch. 86:1 (1935).
J.H. Gaddum, Discoveries in therapeutics, J. Pharm. Pharmacol 6:497(1954).
N. Jancsó and H. Jancsó, Mikrobiologische Grundlagen der chemotherapeutischen Wirkung. 1. Mitteilung: Wirkungsmechanismus des Germanins (Bayer 205) bei Trypanosomen, Ztbl Bakter. 132:257(1934).
H. King, E.M. Lourie and W. Yorke, New trypanocidal substances, Lancet 11:1360(1937).
H. Kroó and N. Jancsó, Die Bedeutung des Reticuloendothels für die Immunität and Chemotherapie, Z. Hyg. 112:544(1931).
N. Jancsó, Speicherung; Stoffanreicherung im Retikuloendothel und in der Niere. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest (1955).
N. Jancsó, Histamine as a physiological activator of the reticulo-endothelial system, Nature 160:227 (1947).
N. Jancsó, Sichtbarmachung von Histaminwirkungen in den Geweben, Ber. Physiol 126:475 (1941).
Z. Dirner, Wirkungsmechanismus von Hautreizstoffen, Ber. Physiol. 126:475(1941).
N. Jancsó and A. Jancsó-Gábor, Dauerausschaltung der chemischen Schmerzempfindlichkeit durch Capsaicin, Naunyn-Schmiedeberg’s Arch, exp. Path. Pharmak. 236:142(1959).
J. Pórszász and N. Jancsó, Studies on the action potentials of sensory nerves in animals desensitized with capsaicine, Acta Physiol. Sci. Hung. 16:299(1959).
N. Jancsó and A. Jancsó-Gábor, Die Wirkungen des Capsaicins auf die hypothalamischen Thermoreceptoren, Naunyn-Schmiedeberg’s Arch. exp. Path. Pharmak. 251:136(1965).
N. Jancsó, Role of the nerve terminals in the mechanism of inflammatory reactions, Bull Millard Fillmore Hosp. (Buffalo, N.Y.) 7:53 (1960).
N. Jancsó, Desensitization with capsaicin and related acylamides as a tool for studying the function of pain receptors, in: “Pharmacology of Pain,” R. K. S. Lim, ed., Pergamon Press, Oxford (1968).
N. Jancsó, Neurogenic inflammatory responses, Acta Physiol. Acad. Sci. Hung. Suppl. 23:3(1964).
G. Jancsó, E. Király and A. Jancsó-Gábor, Pharmacologically induced selective degeneration of chemosensitive primary sensory neurones, Nature 270:741 (1977).
C.A. Maggi and A. Meli, The sensory-efferent function of capsaicin-sensitive nerves, Gen. Pharmacol. 19:1(1988).
J. Szolcsányi, Capsaicin, irritation, and desensitization. Neurophysiological basis and future perspectives, in: “Irritation, Chemical Senses,” Vol. 2, B. G. Green, J. R. Mason and M. R. Kare, eds., Marcel Dekker, New York and Basel (1990).
P. Holzer, Capsaicin: Cellular targets, mechanisms of action, and selectivity for thin sensory neurons, Pharmacol Rev. 43:143(1991).
G. Jancsó, Pathobiological reactions of C-fibre primary sensory neurones to peripheral nerve injury, Exp. Physiol 77:405(1992).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1994 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Jancsó, G. (1994). Histamine, Capsaicin and Neurogenic Inflammation. A Historical Note on the Contribution of Miklós (Nicholas) Jancsó (1903–1963) to Sensory Pharmacology. In: Berczi, I., Szélenyi, J. (eds) Advances in Psychoneuroimmunology. Hans Selye Symposia on Neuroendocrinology and Stress, vol 3. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-9104-4_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-9104-4_2
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-9106-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-9104-4
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive