芬森灯 Finsen Light 和光疗的诞生

Finsen Light and Birth of Phototherapy

　

芬森光(Finsen Light ) 以其发明者Niels Tyberg Finsen 而命名(1860-1903)。这是一种用来治疗皮肤病狼疮患者的强光。

　

　

 

紫外线(UV)

芬森于1891年获得医学学位。随着时间的推移，他对光线如何影响疾病变得非常感兴趣。芬森对一位瑞典研究人员的 研究很熟悉，他在1889年发现了紫外线的影响。研究人员发现，短波紫外线(可见光辐射波长范围以外的光谱)对生物组织的刺激比长波红外线更强烈。

 

有了这些信息，芬森开始记录阳光对昆虫和两栖动物的影响。他确信光可以用来治疗人类疾病。芬森发现来自太阳或电灯的紫外线可以杀死细菌。他在1893年和1894年写了几篇关于光疗的有益应用的论文。

　

　

　

　

 

1895年，芬森与哥本哈根电灯公司达成了一项协议，每天用紫外线照射两个小时。他的病人被诊断患有红斑狼疮。这是一种由结核杆菌引起的皮肤病。芬森为治疗设计了一盏强大的灯(芬森灯)。这是一种由电子碳弧产生的明亮的人造光。

　

 

光疗Phototherapy

1896年，芬森在哥本哈根成立了芬森光疗法研究所。该研究所致力于研究光的作用和治疗疾病的人。在该研究所，800名 红斑狼疮患者接受治疗。一半的病人治愈了这种疾病，几乎所有的病人都有改善的状况。对于这一成就，芬森获得了1903年诺贝尔医学奖。芬森把一半奖金捐给了芬森研究所(Finsen Instute)。

　

　

　

 

在芬森的时代，x射线和伽玛射线都是由德国物理学家Wilhelm Rontgen(1845-1923)和法国物理学家Antoine-Henri Becquerel(1852-1908)发现的。随着芬森在光疗法方面的成功，放射治疗的想法诞生了，X射线和伽马射线被频繁地用于疾病的诊断和治疗。

　

 

即使在今天，一些食物也被紫外线照射以杀死细菌。芬森也在他的时代之前，在他的概念中，阳光对性格和健康的影响。最近，季节性情绪紊乱(SAD)被认为是由于冬季缺少阳光而引起的一种抑郁症。被诊断为SAD的人可以通过坐在灯光下，在冬天的日子里延长暴露在光线下的时间。

　

　

　

 

Finsen Light

 

The finsen light is named for its inventor, Niels Tyberg Finsen (1860-1903). It was a powerful light used to cure people of the skin disorder lupus.

 

Ultraviolet Light (UV)

 

Finsen received his medical degree in 1891. Over time, he became very interested in how light affects disease. Finsen was familiar with the work of a Swedish researcher who in 1889 had discovered the effects of ultraviolet light. The researcher had found that short-wave ultraviolet (the range of radiation wavelengths just outside the color violet in the visible spectrum) light irritated biological tissue more than the longer-waved infrared light.

 

With this information at hand, Finsen began recording the effects of sunlight on insects and amphibians. He was convinced that light could be used to treat human disease. Finsen found that ultraviolet light from the sun or from electric lights could kill bacteria. He wrote several papers in 1893 and 1894 on the beneficial use of phototherapy.

 

In 1895 Finsen made an arrangement with Copenhagen Electric Light Works to treat patients two hours each day with ultraviolet light. His patients were diagnosed with lupus vulgaris. This is a skin disease caused by the tubercle bacillus (tuberculosis). Finsen designed a powerful lamp (the finsen light) for the treatment. It was a bright artificial light generated by electrical carbon arcs.

 

Phototherapy

 

In 1896 Finsen founded the Finsen Institute for Phototherapy in Copenhagen. The Institute was dedicated to studying effects of light and curing people of disease. At the Institute, 800 lupus patients were treated. Half were cured of the disease and nearly all the rest showed improvement in their conditions. For this achievement Finsen was awarded the 1903 Nobel Prize in medicine. Finsen donated half the prize money to the Finsen Institute.

 

During Finsen's era both X-rays and gamma rays were discovered by the German physicist Wilhelm Rontgen (1845-1923) and the French physicist Antoine-Henri Becquerel (1852-1908). With Finsen's success in light therapy leading the way, the idea of radiotherapy was born. Since Finsen's time, X-rays and gamma rays have been frequently used for the diagnoses and treatment of disease.

 

Even today some foods are irradiated with ultraviolet light to kill bacteria. Finsen was also ahead of his time in his concept of the effect of sunlight on disposition and health. It is only fairly recently that Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) has been recognized as a type of depression caused by a lack of sunlight in winter. People diagnosed with SAD can be treated by sitting under lights to extend their exposure to light on short days.

 

 

 

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