100 years ago, county paid homage to ‘hero’ scientist
MCDONALD COUNTY — Almost 100 years ago, the residents of McDonald County paid homage to Dr. Joseph Goldberger, who discovered the link between poverty and a disease called pellagra. An article published on March 15, 1929, gives current residents a glimpse into the minds and hearts of the people who were surrounded by this epidemic and how they appreciated the man who helped discover the cure.
The article, “A Hero of Science,” begins by acknowledging that heroes aren’t only soldiers.
It opens with the lines: “There are all kinds of heroes, and not all of them are soldiers or sailors. Some of the bravest, kindest spirits were those that could be described as soldiers of science. Men who went down battling against diseases and unhappiness and death — One of these men has recently passed away — Dr. Joseph Goldberger.”
Goldberger was a physician and an epidemiologist whose greatest achievement was discovering the link between poverty and a disease called pellagra.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institutes of Health, “during the early part of the 20th century, pellagra, a disease that results from a diet (deficiency) in niacin, killed many poor Southerners.”
Its symptoms include the three Ds: dermatitis, diarrhea and dementia. Other symptoms, such as the loss of appetite, pain in the abdomen and, most notably, severe rashes, were also present. If left untreated, pellagra can cause lasting damage to the nervous system and even death.
A misconception back then was that pellagra was an infectious disease caused by passing from host to host. Goldberger refuted the idea by observing those who were afflicted.
One observation was the affliction of those in mental hospitals, orphanages and other institutions. The result showed that most victims were patients, not the staff. Since infectious diseases hold no biases against those it inflicts, it’s reasonable to say this disease was conditional and not caused by germs. Regardless, there were still many skeptics who publicly denounced Goldberger’s discovery.
Because of this, Goldberger’s frustrations led him to act in a way many would consider radical and dangerous. As an act of desperation, Goldberger experimented with the disease on himself and his volunteers, which included his own wife.
The goal was to prove pellagra wasn’t a disease that could be contracted infectiously but was caused by vitamin deficiencies such as B vitamins.
His findings showed that those who were suffering from pellagra didn’t transmit the disease to others.
The article continues: Stricken with yellow fever, typhus fever, and other lethal maladies as the direct result of his work, he lived to reveal how such diseases could be prevented and cured. Then he discovered the cause of pellagra, and his studies demonstrated how that dread disease could be eliminated.”
He would be nominated four times for a Nobel Prize in the “physiology or medicine” category.
Sadly, Goldberger died from a form of kidney cancer called renal cell carcinoma on January 17, 1929. He was 54.
Clearly, his death affected the people of McDonald County.
The article concludes: “Now Dr. Goldberger is dead, leaving little money for his family. Legislation has been urged to provide a pension for his family now that his comparatively small salary has stopped. We are in favor of this legislation and of (the) steps being taken to protect the families and cherish the memories of all of our Soldiers of Science.”
Goldberger’s wife would receive a pension of $125 per month or roughly $2,170 by today’s standards.
Goldberger’s findings were significant, especially as the Great Depression was around the corner. Although it would be discovered years later that pellagra was caused by a deficiency of the B vitamin, his contribution was discovering the link between poverty and Pellagra.
We can only imagine how many more people, including those in McDonald County, would have died from a disease that was easily preventable.
One of the remedies? A simple diet with the right nutritional vitamins.
Who knows how many more neighbors would have died during the Great Depression? What we know for sure is that many lives were saved because of the efforts of Goldberger, who was a “hero of science.”