Murray Jarvik

Murray Elias Jarvik (born June 1, 1923 in New York City , † May 8, 2008 in Santa Monica , California ) was an American psychopharmacologist . He and Jed Rose developed the nicotine patch .

biography

Jarvik was born in New York in 1923. His scientific career spans more than 50 years. He taught and researched primarily at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He was also a senior physician at the West Los Angeles Veterans Administration Medical Center and was a member of a. the American Academy of Neurology , the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Psychological Association .

In the 1960s, he was one of the first to study the effects of LSD on the human body and psyche. After that he devoted himself to memory . In 1970 he devoted himself to nicotine addiction and examined the causes of this addiction. In 1990, he and Jed Rose, a fellow doctoral student at UCLA, investigated a case of "green tobacco illness," which was common among southern farm workers and manifested itself in drowsiness , nausea and confusion . While investigating this puzzling epidemic among farmers, Jarvik discovered that tobacco can be absorbed into the skin. This discovery led to the development of the nicotine patch, which can be used to help quit smoking. Since the two scientists could not find any test subjects , they tested the active ingredient in self-experiments. In 1992 the patch was released in the USA and is now available there without a prescription.

His works on psychopharmacology are among the most widely read among American medical students. The scientist died on May 8, 2008 after a long period of heart problems. He left behind his wife, Lissy Jarvik, two sons and three grandchildren.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Article about the "green tobacco illness"
2. ^ UCLA obituary