Édouard Brissaud: distinguished neurologist and Charcot’s pupil

Abstract

Professor Charcot had several pupils in his famous neurological service at the Salpêtrière Hospital in Paris, France. Among them, Édouard Brissaud was one of Charcot's favorite pupils, temporarily becoming his successor after Charcot's death. Brissaud's neurological contributions were significant, including the description of hemifacial spasm, "geste antagoniste" in dystonia, pseudobulbar affect, post-traumatic stress disorder, the Brissaud-Sicard syndrome, and Brissaud's sign. Additionally, Brissaud was the first to suggest that Parkinson's disease pathology could be related to the substantia nigra.

Constructing the detecting stage: Social processes and the diagnostic journey of early onset Parkinson’s disease

“…Fotini’s case shows the impacts psychologised discourse and epistemological confusions can have on one’s biography. Bodily dysfunctions are perceived as psychological issues and this reminds us of the time when PD was characterised as neurasthenia, before Brissaud’s discovery in 1925 that Parkinson’s is due to a damage in the brain and has a clear neurological character (Marques et al., 2018). Although this case is rare and refers to the 70s, when diagnostic tools were still limited, it shows the dynamics of social processes in individuals’, both patients and doctors, discourses.…”