Sally Festing

Derek Richter

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Derek Richter (14 January,1907 - 15 December 1995), English neuropsychiatrist, was a founding father of the science of brain chemistry. Identifying monoamine oxidase and demonstrating its function in the brain early in his career, he became a prime mover in his field. In 1968 he founded the British Brain Research Organization (BRA). Prior to this he helped to establish the Mental Health Research Fund, subsequently The Mental Health Foundation, now MIND (1949), <ref name="1"> the Journal of Neurochemistry (1956), the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO) (1960), of which he became secretary-general, and the International Society for Neurochemistry (ISN) (1967). After leading a research unit at Whitchurch Hospital (1947-1960), he became director of a Medical Research Council centre in Carshalton (1960-1971). <Balazs R and Reynolds EH (2013), Journal of the History of the Neurosciences 21:189–213.>(2) Throughout his life he promoted international collaboration in research. (3)

Biography

[edit] Richter was born in Bath, Somerset, third child of Charles A Richter, co-founder of the family firm, Bath Cabinet Makers. (4) From Oundle School he won a scholarship to Magdalen College, Oxford, where he gained a first-class honour degree in chemistry. At Munich University he worked under nobel-prizewinning Heinrich Wieland. In 1931 he gained a Ph.D (magna cum laude) for the autoxidation of aldehydes.

He then moved to Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins Biochemical Laboratory at Cambridge alongside Nobel laureates Ernst Chain, Richard Synge, Frederick Sanger, Hans Krebs and Archer Martin. This was a defining period, working under Hermann Blaschko with monoamines of physiological interest.

A year before the outbreak of WWII, he took a post at the Maudsley Hospital to work on amphetamines. Married to Beryl Ailsa Griffiths, with whom he had three children, he set up a wartime research laboratory for treating shell-shock in the Mill Hill Emergency Hospital. Despite taxing commitments, he simultaneously qualified in medicine at St Bartholomew’s Hospital.(5)

In 1947 Richter received a Rockefeller Foundation grant to set up the Whitchurch unit. Four years later, with one of the first Geiger counters to measure radioisotopes in the country, and the first EEG machine in Wales, he and RMC Dawson had isolated nuclei from the cells of the cerebral cortex and demonstrated changes in brain metabolism with changes in brain function. With Linford Rees he carried out early work on biochemical changes concerning epilepsy and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). With Miki Gaitonde, he worked on the metabolic activity of proteins of the brain (6)

At Carshalton, Richter gathered a cosmopolitan group of scientists with a global approach to their research. He became involved with the World Health Organization, and Amnesty International. In retirement he was elected a fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, and wrote a series of humanitarian books. Typically, his last book was intended for foreign visitors.

Concern for the childless women prompted him to become one of the first sperm donors at Mary Barton’s insemination clinic--PrimeBOT (talk) 23:25, 22 July 2017 (UTC) in London. Some of these children have been identified by DNA markers. (7) He continued to write and edit enlightened books, gardened passionately and joined his second wife, Molly Bullock, in establishing South Lodge, a refuge in Epsom for discharged mental patients. (8)

References

[edit] 1.https://www.duedil.com/director/902658131/derek-richter‎ 2.Balazs R and Reynolds EH (2013), Journal of the History of the Neurosciences 21:189–213. 3.Balazs R, J. Neurochem., (1996) Vol. 66, No. 5, 2217-2219 4.Festing S (1998) Charles Richter and Bath Cabinet Makers: the early years. Bath History, vol VII pp. 146-166 5.Balazs R and Reynolds EH (2013), Journal of the History of the Neurosciences 21:189–213. 6.Balazs R, J. Neurochem., ., (1996) Vol. 66, No. 5, 2217-2219 7.The Sunday Times (2012), 8 April, Kevin Dowling, pp 1-3. Daily Mail (2001), 20 October, David Jones, pp 20-21 8.Rollin HR (1996), British Medical Journal, Obituary, 312:505

Seminal Writings

[edit] • Green DE, Richter D (1937) Adrenaline and adrenochrome. Boichem J 31:596-616 • Richter D (1937) Adrenaline and amine oxidase. Biochem J 31-2022-2028 • Richter D, Crossland J (1949) Variation in the acetylcholine content of the brain with physiological state. Am. J Physiol 150:247-255 • Dawson RMC, Richter D (1950) Effect of stimulation on the phosphate esters of the brain. Am. J Physiol 160:203-211 • Richter D, Hullin RP (1951) Isolated nuclei from cells of the cerebral cortex. Biochem J 48: 406-410 • Gaitonde MK, Richter D (1956) The metabolic activity of proteins of the brain. Proc R Soc B 145:83-99 • Richter D ed. (1950) Perspectives in Neuropsychiatry , HK Lewis & Co. London • Richter D, Reiss M, Elkes J, Hapoold FC, Weil-Malherbe H, Harris GW (1953) Ignorances in biochemistry, endocrinology and pharmacology, in Tanner JM ed. Prospects in psychiatric research. Blackwell Scientific Publishers, Oxford pp. 109-155 • Gaitonde MK, Richter D (1956) The metabolic activity of proteins of the brain, Proc Roy Soc B, 145:83-99 • Richter D ed. (1957) Schizophrenia: Somatic aspects. Pergamon Press, London Balazs R, Richter D (1960). Observations on the mechanism of the aerobic control of Glycolysis in Brain Mitochondrial Fraction. Biochem J 74:30pp • Balázs R, Richter D. (1960) Observations on the mechanism of the aerobic • control of Glycolosis in Brain Mitochondrial Fraction. Biochem J 74:pp 30 • Richter D ed. Aspects of Learning and Memory (1966), Wm Heinemann Medical Books • Richter D ed. The Challenge of violence (1972), Ardua Press, Tadworth, Surrey • Richter D ed. Women Scientists: The Road to Liberation, (1982), Macmillan, ISBN 0 333 32468 Richter D ed. Research in Mental Illness (1984), Wm Heinemann Medical Books,ISBN 0 433 27601 0 • Richter D, Life in Research (1989), Stuart Phillips Publicatns., Kingswood, Surrey, ISBN 1 869808 01 0 • Richter D, English Usage Guide (1992), The Book Guild Lewes, ISBN 0 86332 738 9