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Advanced Neurology George Cotzias and L-DOPA therapy

neurotransmitter crucial for regulating movement, which as a sergeant volunteer of Greek army was successful. 1,7,33,38,46
becomes dysregulated in PD. 10,17,18,23 Therefore, a wounded In the Greek army, he again met Kondiades after Kondiades
SN is accompanied by loss of neurons, neuromelanin, and requested to collaborate with him at a hospital near the
dopamine within the affected region. 1-4,8,9,11,13-15,17-21,23,28 Albanian frontiers. He had a brief military experience
38
The classic external features of PD are bradykinesia as his father could not reject the proposal from the King
and rigidity. 34-42 It is important to address the existence of Greece to represent the Greek government in the USA
of other voluntary and involuntary movement disorders, after Germans bombed a hospital when all the staff was
7,38
including tremors. 43-51 In many cases, the presence of gait inside. Thus, all the family of Constantinos Cotzias had
complexities was also noted. 39,42,44,47,51 Many PD patients to travel to the USA. 7,38
estimated rigidity to be the most disturbing symptom 4. Cotzias in the USA
because it affects their daily activities, often more so than
bradykinesia and dyskinesia. 12 4.1. Early studies and collaborations

3. The young Cotzias in Greece The life of Cotzias in the USA began in August 1941, when
he intended to continue his medical studies. He submitted
George Cotzias (Figure 1), the renowned pharmacologist applications to several New York universities, including
and neuropathologist, was born on June 16, 1918, in Crete, the University of Cornell, but all were rejected. 7,33,38 The
Greece. 1,7,33,38 He was the eldest child of Caterina Stroumboli universities rejected his applications citing Cotzias’ low
Cotzia and Constantinos Cotzias. His mother was a victim level of English language and insufficient knowledge
of cancer. Unlike his mother, his father, Constantinos of biochemistry, pharmacology, and physiology as
3
Cotzias, was continuously absent from home. The latter reasons. 7,33,38 The rejections led Cotzias not to ignore
was a famous, successful, and courageous journalist, his father’s advice to apply to the top university in
politician, lawyer, and businessman who supported the New York. 7,33,38 Thus, Cotzias applied to the Harvard
king of Greece during World War II. 7,38,46 In Athens, there University. Among the application procedures of Harvard
is still a square named after Constantinos Cotzias, along University was an interview that Cotzias gave in fluent
with a statue of him. 7,38,46 German with the Harvard medical professor and German
From his earliest years, George Cotzias, otherwise called refugee Soma Weiss. Finally, Cotzias was accepted as a
38
“Zorba of Science” 1, p.10 , studied at the leading educational 3 -year student at the medical school. When Cotzias
rd
38
institutions of Greece. graduated as the second-best student of his class in 1943,
he received the Summa Cum Laude distinction. 1,7,33,38,46
He began his medical studies in Greece. 7,33,46 At the
age of 22, when Greece was defeated, he did not hesitate In 1945, when his family went back to Athens, the
to risk his life. It was at this age that his training under physician stayed in the USA. His first specialization as a
38
1,7
the supervision of the professor of surgery Xenophon pathologist was at Brigham Hospital. He then pursued
7,38
Kondiades was interrupted because his application to serve training in neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital,
where he worked from 1944 to 1945 and collaborated
with the hospital’s chief specialist, Dr. Lewis Dahl. 1,7,38
In 1946, Vincent P. Dole decided to employ Cotzias as a
researcher, after Dahl’s positive recommendation, in the
newly established research department at Rockefeller
University. During this collaboration, Cotzias added to
38
his scientific portfolio by contributing to the studies on
hypertension, exploring links between hypertension, salt
metabolism instability, and energy balance. 3,7,38

4.2. Steps toward the discovery of the distinguished
therapy

In 1954, supported by the director of Rockefeller Hospital,
Thomas Rivers, Cotzias and Dahl joined Van Slyke’s
research team in BNL. 7,38,46 It was there where Cotzias
began his main studies, which led to the invention of
Figure 1. George Cotzias 38
Source: https://collections.nlm.nih.gov/catalog/nlm: nlmuid-101441400- L-DOPA. He had his own research space and worked for
img (Public Domain). 10 years as a senior scientist and head of the Department

Volume 4 Issue 2 (2025) 43 doi: 10.36922/an.5177