Quite a few diseases are named after the person(s) who discovered the disease—an example is Kawasaki disease—or the place where the disease was discovered—examples include Coxsackie disease (named after Coxsackie, New York) and Lyme disease (named after Lyme, Connecticut).
Many are now advocating to change eponyms—which are diseases that are named after people—to names that describe the disease. Why is this happening?
In a Pediatrics Perspective article being early released this week in Pediatrics, Augustine Kang, PhD, Kevin Chi, MD, and Terrell Stevenson, MD, from Stanford University provide the argument for moving away from eponyms. Their Perspective is entitled, “Rett Syndrome and the Broader Implications of the Use of Eponyms in Medicine” (10.1542/peds.2024-067069).
The authors describe Dr. Andreas Rett’s contribution to identifying the syndrome that bears his name. The authors also describe Dr. Rett’s association with the Nazi regime and with Nazi doctors.
It is this association that has created the impetus to change the name of this disease—and others—that bear the names of people who have been associated with unethical practices.
Some of these disease names are starting to change, but it is a slow process. The authors propose a standardized approach, coordinated by an organization such as the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), by which stakeholders (clinicians, researchers, patients) decide upon new names for these diseases.
This is the right thing to do. Please read the article. It is important for all of us to understand where these eponyms come from, their historical context, and the rationale for changing them to names that are descriptive of each disease and do not evoke associations with unethical practices.
