There are also historical concerns about the individual that can cause a push to change the name. In this case, some thought this was needed because of Dr. Wegener’s active participation in the medical establishment of the Nazi party during World War II.
Richard Panush, MD, professor of medicine in the Division of Rheumatology at the Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California in Los Angeles, has an interest in the history of medicine and has contributed to the discussion of issues relevant to the crimes of Nazi physicians. “It is important that professional societies address the issue of moral, ethical, and professional characteristics of the person in cases such as this,” he says.
There is no evidence that Wegener was directly involved in war crimes during his tenure as director of the health authority in Lodz, Poland. He was involved in the Nazi medical establishment’s goal of preserving “racial hygiene.”
“While his connection to the Nazi regime was an early impetus for change, a critical evaluation of how we name diseases is the more important piece here,” says Dr. Matteson. “What we really want to do in medicine is to give diseases more scientifically appropriate names. Granulomatosis with polyangiitis references the two major features of the illness and is substantially more descriptive than the old name.”
ACR and Others Pushing for Change
The ACR cooperated with the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) and the American Society of Nephrology when the name change was suggested. A group of experts in the disease representing the associations met and reached a consensus on changing the name to granulomatosis with polyangiitis. They added Wegener’s as a parenthetical during a transition period.
“The changeover may take as long as five years to complete,” says Dr. Matteson. “In the interim we want make sure the disease is easily identifiable and searchable, so Dr. Wegener’s name will remain attached for a while.”
To get the word out about the change, the presidents of all three professional societies published articles in their journals.1 Letters outlining the suggested name change have been sent to the editors of most major journal editors and the National Library of Medicine.
Both Drs. Borenstein and Matteson agree that it will take some time to have the changes take full effect. Some of it will be people wanting to continue with what they learned in medical school, some just what a physician feels comfortable using.
