CFS/ME: pathologist & researcher passes away

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Wilhelmina M H Behan, pathologist and researcher; born February 11, 1939,

died March 19, 2005.

A recognised international authority on muscle diseases, she had a

particular interest in polymyositis and chronic fatigue syndrome. She made

seminal contributions to the study of congenital heart disease and described

the genetics and neuropathology of familial spastic paraplegia, which is the

standard work on that condition. Recent work had been to apply advanced

genetic techniques to investigate muscle diseases.

With more than 173 publications, she was also a reviewer of papers and grant

applications for advanced muscle research. She contributed the chapter on

muscle to Muir's Textbook of Pathology. Much of her research was carried out

in collaboration with her husband, a professor of neurology. Between them

they won several awards (including the Ramsay Medal in 1997 and the Dutch

Government International Prize in 1995 for investigation of fatigue states)

and had substantial research funding.

As well as research, she was a clinical pathologist at the Western

Infirmary, Glasgow. With an unrivalled ability in histological diagnosis,

she was personally congratulated by the eminent Harvard professor,

Castleman for diagnosing the smallest malignant thymoma ever seen. Before

the prevalence and significance of Aids was realised, she diagnosed at post

mortem the first case in Scotland. In addition, she set up a specialised

muscle clinic, to which patients were referred from throughout Britain.

Wilhelmina was born in London in 1939. Her father, Dr , was a

distinguished physician. Her mother's ancestors can be traced back to the

Norman Invasion in 1066.

Wilhelmina had a distinguished academic career. She was the Trust Scholar of

Great Britain Public Day Schools in 1956. She won an open scholarship to

Bristol University where she graduated MB ChB in 1962, taking a first-class

honours degree with distinctions in pathology and medicine and winning the

University Gold Medal. Other university prizes included first prize in

obstetrics, first prize in medicine, the University Memorial

Pathology Prize and first prize in anaesthetics.

After house jobs at the professorial units at Bristol Royal Infirmary she

went to Cambridge University from 1963 to 1966 as a trainee in pathology.

From there she spent two years as a senior resident in pathology at Harvard

Medical School, was appointed pathologist in chief of the Veterans

Administrations Hospital, Brockton, Massachusetts, from 1968 to 1971 and was

assistant professor of pathology at Boston University Medical School from

1971 to 1973.

In 1974 she joined the department of pathology at Glasgow University as

lecturer and subsequently became senior lecturer and professor. Wilhelmina

was a fellow of the American College of Pathologists, the Royal College of

Pathologists and the Royal College of Physicians (Glasgow). She was board

certified in histopathology in the United States and had held a travelling

fellowship at the Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford, 1969-1970. Her doctorate was

obtained from Bristol University in 1986.

She was a highly popular teacher at Glasgow Medical School, and organised

the Honours BSc course in molecular and cellular pathology. She taught her

students to speak clearly and confidently, and ensured that they had

projects which led to excellent theses and publications.

Over the previous eight years she set up a course on " unusual infections of

the nervous system " and while originally she intended this course to be

limited to 14 in number, it was so popular that in 1998 she had to accept 57

students. She supervised numerous higher degrees.

Throughout her life she was extremely hard working and demonstrated enormous

dedication and organisation. She was quietly spoken yet utterly without any

form of arrogance. She was devoted to her family and had a large coterie of

friends. Wilhelmina had an encyclopaedic knowledge of English literature

especially the works of Jane Austen and Dickens.

She died after a long and cruel illness which she bore with enormous

courage.

She is survived by her husband, three children (a neurology specialist

registrar, a cardiology specialist registrar and a medical senior house

officer) and two grandchildren.