Tsai-Fan Yu

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Tsai-Fan Yu
Born1911 (1911)
Shanghai, China
Died (aged 95)
Alma mater
Known forResearch on gout
Scientific career
FieldsMedicine
Institutions

Tsai-Fan Yu (

Mount Sinai School of Medicine. She helped to develop an explanation for the cause of gout
and experimented with early drugs to treat the disease which are still in use today.

Early life and education

Yu was born in

Internal Medicine at Peking Union Medical College.[1][2][3]

Career and research

While in China, Yu researched the various diseases found in citrus fruits and beans. Yu came to New York in 1947 and became a U.S. citizen in 1950. She taught at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons until joining the staff faculty at Mount Sinai Medical Center in 1957 where she would spend the rest of her career. In 1973, Yu became the first female to be appointed as a full professor at Mount Sinai Hospital, one of the oldest and largest teaching hospitals in The United States.[1][2]

Causes of Gout

Yu conducted extensive research in which was continuously funded by the

chronic tophaceuous gout.[4] Yu also studied the effect that other medication conditions have on the presentation of gout. She found that about half of the patients with gout have other associated medication conditions, including hypertension, proteinuria, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia.[5]

Treatment of Gout

Beginning in the 1950s, Yu developed medicines that have been proven to be successful for treating gout. In addition, Yu and her colleague Alexander B. Gutman helped to establish a groundbreaking clinic at Mount Sinai for the treatment of gout, one of the first gout clinics in the United States at Mount Sinai. Yu studied probenecid, a uricosuric drug which causes the removal of excess uric acid by being excreted with urine. She later conducted a five-year study that was published in 1961 in which she discovered colchicine, an anti-inflammatory drug that prevents recurring attacks of acute gout.[1][2] In 1953, Yu conducted research on phenylbutazone as a treatment for various arthritic disorders, one being acute gouty arthritis. She and colleagues found that phenylbutazone injections lead to significantly higher urate clearance and more efficient excretion, making it successful in treating acute gout.[6] In the 1960s, Yu further developed studies of gout’s mechanisms and soon discovered allopurinol, a drug that helps to prevent the formation of uric acid and is used in treating gout and kidney stones.[1] In 1980, she studied carprofen and its effect on urinary excretion. She found it was effective for treating acute gouty arthritis and recommended further trials.[5] While at Mount Sinai Hospital, Yu helped to establish one of the first systemized laboratory tests for diagnosing rheumatoid arthritis.[1]

In 1972, Yu co-authored and published Gout and Uric Acid Metabolism and in 1982, she published the book called The Kidney in Gout and Hyperuricemia .[7]

Awards and honors

At age 81, Yu retired as the first female professor at Mount Sinai Hospital with

professor Emeritus status in 1992. She was awarded the Distinguished Career Achievement Award from the Mount Sinai Medical Center. She was also awarded the Master Award from the American Association of Rheumatology for her work in diagnosing rheumatoid arthritis. In 2004, The Tsai-Fan Yu Foundation was established as a philanthropic nonprofit corporation.[8][9] Over the course of her career, she worked with over 4000 gout patients at one of the largest gout-focused practices.[2] She also published 220 scientific journal articles and is known for her ability to translate lab research into an effective treatment for patients.[2] She is aunt to Hua Eleanor Yu, a professor in tumor immunotherapy and Humboldt Research Award recipient. Yu died at age 95 in March 2007 due to respiratory complications at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Manhattan.[1][2]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Dr. Tsai-fan Yu (1911 - 2007)". National Women's History Museum. Archived from the original on 2017-06-09. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Pearce, Jeremy (March 12, 2007). "Tsai-Fan Yu, 95, Physician, Dies; Helped Alleviate Gout". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  3. ^ "Tsai- Fan Yu Obituary". New York Times. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  4. PMID 13016572
    .
  5. ^ .
  6. .
  7. ^ Talbott, John; Tsai-Fan (1976). Gout and Uric Acid Metabolism. New York: Stratton Intercontinental Medical Book Corporation.
  8. ^ "Nonprofit Explorer – Tsai-Fan Yu Foundation". ProPublica. 9 May 2013. Retrieved 2015-04-20.
  9. ^ "Tsai- Fan Yu Foundation". NonProfotFacts. Retrieved 24 March 2014.