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Abramson, Harold - Papers, 1899-1974 Alexander, Hattie Elizabeth - Papers, 1939-1981. Andersen, Dorothy H. - Papers, 1930-1965 Andrew Syngrou Hospital - Photograph Album, c.1929 Arthur Purdy Stout Society of Surgical Pathologists, 1957-1992 Auchincloss, Hugh - "Report to the Surgical Department...," 1915 Babies Hospital Alumni Association - Records, 1927-2000 Babies Hospital - Case Records, 1932-1955 Babies Hospital - Historical Collection, 1887-1994 Babies Hospital - Patient Records, 1889-1929 Bakers Weekly - Press clippings: editorial campaign... Bellevue Hospital - Casebooks, 1866-1916 Bellows, Henry W. - Letters, 1861-1863 Bendixen, Henrik Holt - Papers, 1943-1998 Bernard, Viola Wertheim - Papers, 1918-2000 Bliss, Susan Dwight - Papers, 1926-1955 Bodecker, Charles F. - Papers, 1876-1970 Bogle, John - Papers, 1943-1946 Brewer, George - Scrapbook, 1903, 1913-1923 Calderone, Frank A. - Papers, 1911-1984 Champion, Moses - Letters, 1818-1819 Claman, Leoni Neumann - Papers, 1917, 1922-1924 Collegium der Ärzte der Deutschen Dispensary und Hospital (NY, NY), 1879-1882 Cosman, Bard - Plastic Surgery Case Reports, 1960-1962 Cournand, André - Papers, 1930-1983 Curtis, John G. - "Harvey's Views ..." c.1900 Davis, Elizabeth - Papers, 1949-1998 Dentist's Ledger and Casebook, 1854-1856. Dunning, William B. - Papers, 1881-1970 Elinson, Jack - Papers, 1917-2005 Eliot, Ellsworth Jr. - Operation Record Books, 1900-1912 Emerson, Haven - Papers, 1905-1965 Engle, Earl T. - Papers, 1896-1970 Evans, James M. - Account Book, c.1890-1901 Ewen McIntyre & Son (New York, N.Y.) - Prescription record books, 1863-1888 Experiment (Ship) - Register of Sick & Prescriptions, 1833-1834 Forbes, Henry Hall - Papers, c.1886-1890 Freud, Sigmund - Letters, 1921-1922 Freud, Sigmund - Totem und Tabu [manuscript, c.1912] Friedman, Emanuel - Papers, 1953-1989 Frühwald, Victor - Notebook and album, 1913-1930 Geddings, William H. - Casebooks, 1880-1894 Gies, William John - Collection, 1864-1958 Gill, Elizabeth - Papers, 1937-1968 Graham Family - Papers, 1773-1825. Greig, Alexander - Letters, 1826-1849 Hanway, Betty Nordstrom - Scrapbook, 1948-1951, 1970 Hawkins, Wilma Stevens - "Five Years in Syria," 1934-1939 Herman Knapp Memorial Hospital - Case Books, 1869-1939. Hillard, William Avery - Casebook, 1897-1903 Hilleboe, Herman - Papers, 1931-1968 Hodgkins, David Webb - Papers, 1820-1898 Hogan, Aileen I. - "Letters from Second General...," 1942-1945 Holt, L. Emmett - Patient Records, 1901-1923 Howe, Benjamin - Ledger, 1811-1822 Hunt, James Ramsay - Casebooks, 1903-1936 Jarvie, William - Papers, c.1856-1918 Jolliffe, Norman - Papers, 1901-1961 Lee, Frederic Schiller - Papers, 1867-1933 Lenz, Maurice - Papers, 1902-1977 Longitudinal Harlem Adolescent Health Study - Records, 1967-1999 Maternity Center Association - Records, 1907-1997 May, Charles H. - Papers, 1883-1966 McIntosh, Rustin - Papers, 1932-1974 Merritt, Houston H. - Papers, 1917-1979 Meyer, Karl - Papers, 1932-1992 Montmarquet, Joseph Didier - Papers, 1887-1907 Natanson, David M. - Papers, 1906-1966 Neurological Institute - Patient Records, 1909-1940 New York Orthopaedic Hospital - Patient Records, 1870-1950 Opler, Marvin Kaufmann - Papers, 1915-1979 Orton, Samuel T. and June Lyday - Case Files, 1928-1977 Orton, Samuel T. and June Lyday - Papers, 1901-1977 Pharmacist's Prescription Record Book (NY, NY), 1887-1888 Pharmacy of St. Paul (Bologna, Italy) - Record Book, 1588-1616 Potter, Howard - Autobiography Presbyterian Hospital (NY, NY) - Autopsy Reports, 1872-1911, 1917-1919 Presbyterian Hospital (NY, NY) - Patient Records, 1872-c.1970s Presbyterian Hospital (NY, NY) - Surgical casebooks, 1875-1896, 1905-1915 Presbyterian Hospital (NY, NY), Surgical Pathology Lab - Albums, c.1915-c.1933 Prichard, Elizabeth R. - History of social work at Presbyterian Hospital, 1904-1980 Riley, Henry Alsop - Papers, 1908-1963 Seguin, E. C. - Estate Records, 1898. Severinghaus, Aura E. - Papers, 1910-1979 Silva-Hutner, Margarita - Medical Mycology Laboratory Collection, 1929-1994 Simers, William L. - Daybook and scrapbook, 1798-1810 Sloane Hospital for Women - Patient Records, 1888-1928 Smith, Harry Pratt - Papers, 1941-1959 Stout, Arthur Purdy - Collection of Tumor Literature, c.1906-1962 Stout, Arthur Purdy - Papers, 1885-1985 Taylor, Howard C. - History of the Int'l Inst. Study Human Repro.,1953-1968 Timme, Walter - Papers, 1907-1939, 1945-1947. Townsend, Peter S. - Casebook, 1817-1819 Townsend, Peter S. - Daily register..., 1847 Tuttle, George Montgomery - Casebooks, 1895-1909 U.S. Base Hospital #2 - "The Dooins," 1917-1918 Vanderbilt Clinic - Patient Records, 1914-1928 Vivisection Papers, 1875-1947 Vivisection Scrapbooks, 1908, 1910-1914, 1920-1921, 1923 Wadsworth, Augustus B. - Papers, 1897-1916 Webster, Jerome P. - Collection of Plastic Surgery Reprints, c.1907-c.1976 Webster, Jerome P. - Papers, 1545-1975. Yahr, Melvin D. - L-dopa Case Records, c.1930-c.1985

Personal Papers and Manuscripts

MELVIN D. YAHR, 1917-2004.
L-Dopa (Levo-dopa) Case Records, c. 1930-1945,
   c. 1965-c. 1985.
17.35 cubic feet (18 records cartons)

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE:

Melvin David Yahr, neurologist, was born in New York City on November 18, 1917.  He received his A.B. (1939) and M.D. (1943) from New York University and served internships in neurology at Lenox Hill and Montefiore Hospitals.  He joined the department of neurology at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (P&S) in 1948 as a research assistant and rose through a series of academic appointments, eventually becoming H. Houston Merritt Professor of Neurology in 1970. 

Yahr’s main research interest throughout his career was Parkinson’s Disease.  In the late 1960s, he conducted one of the earliest randomized clinical trials of the amino acid L-dopa (levo-dopa), which showed its dramatic results in ameliorating Parkinson’s Disease.  L-dopa was the first, and remains the most commonly used, medical treatment for the disease.  With Margaret Hoehn, he authored “Parkinsonism: Onset, Progression and Mortality” (1967), a classic article which established the “Hoehn-Yahr scale” for determining the severity of Parkinson’s.

Yahr served as chairman of the department of neurology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine from 1973 to 1992, and was thereafter chairman emeritus and Aidekman Family Professor of Neurological Research.  He was active in many scientific organizations and served the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation in various roles from 1958 to his death.

Melvin Yahr died in New York City on January 1, 2004.

SCOPE AND CONTENT:
The records are comprised of about 14.5 cubic feet of clinical records of patients with Parkinson’s Disease, most of whom appear to have been included in Yahr’s early clinical trials of L-dopa.  The records date from about 1965 to 1985, with the majority being from the late 1960s through the early 1980s.  A small amount of correspondence with pharmaceutical companies is also included.

There are about 40 to 50 reels of film and about a dozen videotapes.  Most of the film cans are not titled; those that are generally have the names of patients who are included in the patient records and date from the late 1960s.  The videotapes also appear to be of patients.

Another cubic foot of clinical records are of patients with epidemic encephalitis (“encephalitis lethargica”) seen by members of the Matheson Commission on Epidemic Encephalitis, which was conducted by the College of Physicians and Surgeons in the 1920s-1940s.  The records date from approximately 1930 to 1940. It is not known why Yahr took these records with him when he left Columbia for Mount Sinai in 1973, but it may be related to speculation at the time that epidemic encephalitis and Parkinson’s Disease might be related.

ACCESS:

The records are stored off-site and will take 1-2 days to retrieve. Researchers must call in advance to use the collection.

Because Protected Health Information (PHI) as defined by the US Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) may be found throughout the records, access is allowed only under the terms of Archives and Special Collections’ Access Policy to Records Containing Protected Health Information.

Access to the film is restricted until it can be transferred to a more stable medium.

PROVENANCE:

Gift of Juna Kollmeier, Yahr’s research assistant, 2004 (acc. #2004.06.28).

SUBJECTS: 

Yahr, Melvin D. (Melvin David), 1917-

Matheson Commission.

Clinical trials.

Dopa – Therapeutic use – Testing.

Epidemic encephalitis.

Parkinson’s disease – Treatment.

Parkinsonism – Drug therapy.

Medical records.

L-dopa case records

Box 1: A – Ben

Box 2: Ber – Bre

Box 3: Bri – Dil

Box 4: Du – Gilb

Box 5: Gilb– Hof

Box 6: Hor – Lab

Box 7: Lau – Manc

Box 8: Mand – Met

Box 9: Mi – Per

Box 10: Pet – Sab

Box 11: Sac – Sing

Box 12: Sing – Wein

Box 13: Weis – Z; miscellaneous Parkinson’s cases (may not have been in L-dopa trials)

Box 14: Miscellaneous Parkinson’s cases (may not have been in L-dopa trials)

Box 15: Miscellaneous Parkinson’s cases (may not have been in L-dopa trials)

              Corrrespondence with pharmaceutical companies, 1968-1977

              “List of deceased Parkinson’s patients”

              Matheson Commission on Epidemic Encephalitis: Patient records, A – L

Box 16: Matheson Commission on Epidemic Encephalitis: Patient records, M – Z

Boxes 17-18: film and video