In the best of health and full of energy, Brunello Wüthrich celebrated his 75th birthday with his family on June 21, 2013. This and the symposium “Brunello Wüthrich – a life for allergists”, which will take place on September 26, are more than reason enough to honor his services to allergology here.
A citizen of Trub (BE), but having grown up in Ticino, throughout his life he has combined southern passion and temperament with meticulousness and great attention to detail, both professionally and as a private person. The emotions associated with and triggered by this make Brunello Wüthrich a unique physician, teacher and friend, perceived in equal measure as lively and committed by patients as well as students and professional colleagues.
After school in Lugano, he studied medicine at the University of Zurich (state examination in 1963) and also trained as a dermatologist in Zurich from 1965. Here he habilitated on the subject of “On the immunopathology of neurodermatitis constitutionalis” in 1975 and, under the aegis of Prof. Hans Storck, further expanded the allergy ward of the Dermatology Clinic of the University Hospital Zurich and established an allergology-immunology laboratory.
He was instrumental in the introduction of a “Certificate of Competence in Allergic Diseases” (1976), later an FMH subtitle (1984) and FMH specialist title (2001) “Allergology and Clinical Immunology” in Switzerland. In 2002, the Allergy Ward was recognized as a “center of excellence” by the European Academy for Allergolgy and Clinical Immunology and has since been part of a network of 19 allergy centers in the EU area that have joined together in the so-called GA2LEN (“Global allergy asthma european network”).
From 1965 to 2003 – a whole 37 years – he built up, managed and very successfully led this allergy ward. He has succeeded in offering and caring for the entire range of allergic diseases in diagnostics and therapy – an invaluable advantage especially for atopics, who often suffer from multiple organ systems and highly appreciate the interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary approach. Whether neurodermatitis or food allergy – also two of Brunello Wüthrich’s main areas of research – whether hay fever, drug intolerance or anaphylaxis after insect bite: Brunello Wüthrich and his team have taken on all these diseases with commitment. The focus of his commitment was and is clearly always the patient and his environment.
Brunello Wüthrich has advocated taking ample time for the patient, also to find out about his psychological and social condition – knowing full well that an exact anamnesis is the central basis of every successful allergy clarification. Brunello Wüthrich also had an exceptionally good, almost legendary sense for the right questions. Unforgettable to us as his students are moments when, as if from nowhere, he could suddenly solve a previously unclear story with a question. For example, in the case of the patient who complained of developing shortness of breath at night with bites, the question of nesting pigeons in the vicinity – which ultimately led to the diagnosis of pigeon tick allergy.
Just like optimally patient-oriented treatment, the education of students and physicians was of great concern to him. His student courses, where he always explained hay fever very vividly on the basis of patients, are unforgettable to numerous colleagues. He was almost thievishly pleased each time he was able to seduce students into diagnosing a “codeine allergy” based on a (nonspecifically) positive skin test on one of them – thus vividly and memorably providing them with the instructions for astute thinking and lasting engrams.
In the same way, he has been committed to the formation of an actual specialist in allergology and clinical immunology – rather in valuable complement than in competition to the more organ-oriented disciplines. For example, he has also offered allergy courses and continuing education for ORL physicians, pulmonologists, and gastroenterologists-not to mention his strong commitment to dermatology, his core area of expertise. In addition, he has been committed to the education and training of primary care physicians throughout his life – after all, they are often the first point of contact for these common diseases and are therefore of central importance for initial clarification and triage.
In his research, he has devoted himself above all to neurodermatitis, food allergies and also the epidemiology of allergic diseases, thus contributing essential findings to the frequency and course of atopic dermatitis and being one of the first to show that “non-allergic” so-called intrinsic forms of this disease also occur. He has identified numerous food allergies and, for example, cross-reactions between pollen from birch or mugwort and various foods such as stone and pome fruits or spices. Together with the SAPALDIA and SCARPOL team, he was able to make it known that allergies, due to their high prevalences of up to 30% of the population, are indeed a widespread disease. In addition, he has always provided for gripping, lively lectures peppered with episodes and enriched many congresses and training courses through numerous exciting casuistics with even the rarest allergens – from campari allergy to bats and raccoons to the kiss dangerous for apple allergy sufferers.
In addition, he was involved in numerous professional committees and associations – be it on an international level such as the DGAKI and especially the EAACI International of the SGAI and SDV – but also in patient-oriented organizations such as the AHA (www.aha.ch) or the Patient Association for Hereditary Angioedema (www.hae-vereinigung.ch). Numerous awards and honorary memberships attest to his huge contributions to the field.
In the laudation for Brunello Wüthrich’s 65th birthday, Prof. Werner Aberer from Graz writes quite appropriately: “In addition to curiosity, meticulousness and diligence, another characteristic of Brunello Wüthrich is his commitment to further education and training: The majority of his non-English works fall into this category. At the same time, he has not shied away from addressing “delicate issues”: his commitment against bioresonance (“neither useful nor effective”), his participation in studies on acupuncture for asthma, his articles on genetically modified foods bear witness to this.”
Brunello Wüthrich has continued to cultivate this commitment unchanged after his retirement and has been involved accordingly – via lectures, publications and public statements. Of the total of well over 450 publications recorded in Medline, 48 alone date from the period after his retirement – an impressive sign of his continuing enthusiasm and vocation for allergology. He is and will continue to be a guarantor for highly descriptive and exciting presentations – for example, on the stimulating topic of wine allergy. In addition, he also continued to be involved in a smaller capacity for several years, providing highly competent continuing care to patients. The period following his retirement also saw the establishment of the “Brunello-Wüthrich Neurodermatitis Fund” in conjunction with AHA, which seeks to provide care and research into this disease. To us, his students and successors, he has always been available with advice and assistance and, when necessary, with professional support of friendly solidarity.
A description of Brunello Wüthrich would be incomplete without also mentioning him as a family man. Together with his wife Sylvia, their three children and grandchildren mean a lot to him and they have become even more central to his life in recent years.
We would like to wish Brunello Wüthrich many more years of enriching family life with the best of health and well-being in the circle of his family and to thank him sincerely for everything he has done for the field of allergies in general, as well as for our allergy ward and us in particular.
A life for allergy sufferers for 75 years – fulfilled and happy: may it continue, dear Brunello.
Prof. Dr. med. Peter Schmid-Grendelmeier,
Prof. Dr. med. Barbara Ballmer-Weber
Literature:
- Schnyder UW: Brunello Wuthrich on his 60th birthday. Allergology 1998; 21: 247-248.
- Dorsch W: Brunello Wuthrich 65 years. Allergology 2003; 26: 223-224.
- Elsner P: Brunello Wuthrich and atopy. Allergology 1998; 21: 249-250.
- Aberer W: Laudatio: Professor Brunello Wüthrich on his 65th birthday. JDDG 2003; 9: 749-50.
