Murray Jarvik
Encyclopedia
Murray Elias Jarvik was an American
psychopharmacologist
and academic who was among the first scientists to study d-lysergic acid, the precursor to LSD
, and later became the co-inventor of the nicotine patch
. He was a longtime professor emeritus at University of California-Los Angeles, where he taught as a professor of psychiatry
and pharmacology
for many years.
on June 1, 1923. His father, Jacob, was an upholsterer. Jarvik suffered from lifelong heart problems, which began with a severe case of rheumatic fever
when he was twelve years old. He later developed polio at the age of 28 and was diagnosed with lung cancer
in 1992, which was cured. He was never a smoker
.
Jarvik received his undergraduate bachelor's degree
at the City College of New York
before earning his master's degree
in science at U.C.L.A.. He received his doctorate
from the University of California, Berkeley
and his medical degree
from the University of California, San Francisco
.
He was married to his wife, Lissy, for 53 years, and the couple had two sons. His nephew is Robert Jarvik, who developed an artificial heart
called Jarvik-7.
of tobacco
contents through the skin
and its effects on the human body
. His initial exploration into this field began by studying farmers and farmhands in the American South who harvest tobacco by hand for a living.
However, Jarvik and his colleague, then UCLA postdoctoral fellow
Jed Rose, could not get approval to conduct their research into tobacco absorption through the skin on human subjects. Instead, Jarvik and Rose began testing the effects of absorption of tobacco contents on themselves. The effects of the tobacco was immediately measurable. In an interview with UCLA Magazine, Jarvik remembered, "We put the tobacco on our skin and waited to see what would happen. Our heart rate
s increased, adrenaline began pumping, all the things that happen to smokers."
Jarvik and Rose's research led to their invention of the nicotine patch
in the early 1990s. The nicotine patch is a transdermal patch
that delivers nicotine
directly through the skin
and into to the body to alleviate the urge to smoke and, hopefully, ultimately quit smoking. (Rose now serves as the director
of the Center for Nicotine and Smoking Cessation Research at Duke University
.)
The nicotine patch became available by prescription
for smoking cessation
in the United States
in 1992. The Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) approved its sale as an over-the-counter
treatment in 1996.
, on May 8, 2008, at the age of 84 from a pulmonary edema
from congestive heart failure
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
psychopharmacologist
Psychopharmacology
Psychopharmacology is the scientific study of the actions of drugs and their effects on mood, sensation, thinking, and behavior...
and academic who was among the first scientists to study d-lysergic acid, the precursor to LSD
LSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide and colloquially as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synaesthesia, an...
, and later became the co-inventor of the nicotine patch
Nicotine patch
A nicotine patch is a transdermal patch that releases nicotine into the body through the skin. It is used as an aid in nicotine replacement therapy , a process for smoking cessation. The first published study of the pharmacokinetics of a transdermal nicotine patch in humans was authored by Jed E....
. He was a longtime professor emeritus at University of California-Los Angeles, where he taught as a professor of psychiatry
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
and pharmacology
Pharmacology
Pharmacology is the branch of medicine and biology concerned with the study of drug action. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur between a living organism and chemicals that affect normal or abnormal biochemical function...
for many years.
Personal life
Murray Jarvik was born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
on June 1, 1923. His father, Jacob, was an upholsterer. Jarvik suffered from lifelong heart problems, which began with a severe case of rheumatic fever
Rheumatic fever
Rheumatic fever is an inflammatory disease that occurs following a Streptococcus pyogenes infection, such as strep throat or scarlet fever. Believed to be caused by antibody cross-reactivity that can involve the heart, joints, skin, and brain, the illness typically develops two to three weeks after...
when he was twelve years old. He later developed polio at the age of 28 and was diagnosed with lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
in 1992, which was cured. He was never a smoker
Smoker
Smoker is a noun derived from "smoke"/"smoking" and may have the following specialized meanings:* Someone who smokes tobacco or cannabis, cigarette substitutes, or various other drugs* Smoking , smoker, an apparatus for smoking...
.
Jarvik received his undergraduate bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
at the City College of New York
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
before earning his master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in science at U.C.L.A.. He received his doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
from the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
and his medical degree
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
from the University of California, San Francisco
University of California, San Francisco
The University of California, San Francisco is one of the world's leading centers of health sciences research, patient care, and education. UCSF's medical, pharmacy, dentistry, nursing, and graduate schools are among the top health science professional schools in the world...
.
He was married to his wife, Lissy, for 53 years, and the couple had two sons. His nephew is Robert Jarvik, who developed an artificial heart
Artificial heart
An artificial heart is a mechanical device that replaces the heart. Artificial hearts are typically used in order to bridge the time to heart transplantation, or to permanently replace the heart in case transplantation is impossible...
called Jarvik-7.
Nicotine patch
Murray Jarvik began research into the absorptionAbsorption (skin)
Skin absorption is a route by which substances can enter the body through the skin. Along with inhalation, ingestion and injection, dermal absorption is a route of exposure for toxic substances and route of administration for medication...
of tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
contents through the skin
Human skin
The human skin is the outer covering of the body. In humans, it is the largest organ of the integumentary system. The skin has multiple layers of ectodermal tissue and guards the underlying muscles, bones, ligaments and internal organs. Human skin is similar to that of most other mammals,...
and its effects on the human body
Human body
The human body is the entire structure of a human organism, and consists of a head, neck, torso, two arms and two legs.By the time the human reaches adulthood, the body consists of close to 100 trillion cells, the basic unit of life...
. His initial exploration into this field began by studying farmers and farmhands in the American South who harvest tobacco by hand for a living.
However, Jarvik and his colleague, then UCLA postdoctoral fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
Jed Rose, could not get approval to conduct their research into tobacco absorption through the skin on human subjects. Instead, Jarvik and Rose began testing the effects of absorption of tobacco contents on themselves. The effects of the tobacco was immediately measurable. In an interview with UCLA Magazine, Jarvik remembered, "We put the tobacco on our skin and waited to see what would happen. Our heart rate
Heart rate
Heart rate is the number of heartbeats per unit of time, typically expressed as beats per minute . Heart rate can vary as the body's need to absorb oxygen and excrete carbon dioxide changes, such as during exercise or sleep....
s increased, adrenaline began pumping, all the things that happen to smokers."
Jarvik and Rose's research led to their invention of the nicotine patch
Nicotine patch
A nicotine patch is a transdermal patch that releases nicotine into the body through the skin. It is used as an aid in nicotine replacement therapy , a process for smoking cessation. The first published study of the pharmacokinetics of a transdermal nicotine patch in humans was authored by Jed E....
in the early 1990s. The nicotine patch is a transdermal patch
Transdermal patch
A transdermal patch is a medicated adhesive patch that is placed on the skin to deliver a specific dose of medication through the skin and into the bloodstream. Often, this promotes healing to an injured area of the body. An advantage of a transdermal drug delivery route over other types of...
that delivers nicotine
Nicotine
Nicotine is an alkaloid found in the nightshade family of plants that constitutes approximately 0.6–3.0% of the dry weight of tobacco, with biosynthesis taking place in the roots and accumulation occurring in the leaves...
directly through the skin
Human skin
The human skin is the outer covering of the body. In humans, it is the largest organ of the integumentary system. The skin has multiple layers of ectodermal tissue and guards the underlying muscles, bones, ligaments and internal organs. Human skin is similar to that of most other mammals,...
and into to the body to alleviate the urge to smoke and, hopefully, ultimately quit smoking. (Rose now serves as the director
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
of the Center for Nicotine and Smoking Cessation Research at Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
.)
The nicotine patch became available by prescription
Medical prescription
A prescription is a health-care program implemented by a physician or other medical practitioner in the form of instructions that govern the plan of care for an individual patient. Prescriptions may include orders to be performed by a patient, caretaker, nurse, pharmacist or other therapist....
for smoking cessation
Smoking cessation
Smoking cessation is the process of discontinuing the practice of inhaling a smoked substance. This article focuses exclusively on cessation of tobacco smoking; however, the methods described may apply to cessation of smoking other substances that can be difficult to stop using due to the...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1992. The Food and Drug Administration
Food and Drug Administration
The Food and Drug Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, one of the United States federal executive departments...
(FDA) approved its sale as an over-the-counter
Over-the-counter drug
Over-the-counter drugs are medicines that may be sold directly to a consumer without a prescription from a healthcare professional, as compared to prescription drugs, which may be sold only to consumers possessing a valid prescription...
treatment in 1996.
Death
Murray Jarvik died at his home in Santa Monica, CaliforniaSanta Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
, on May 8, 2008, at the age of 84 from a pulmonary edema
Pulmonary edema
Pulmonary edema , or oedema , is fluid accumulation in the air spaces and parenchyma of the lungs. It leads to impaired gas exchange and may cause respiratory failure...
from congestive heart failure
Congestive heart failure
Heart failure often called congestive heart failure is generally defined as the inability of the heart to supply sufficient blood flow to meet the needs of the body. Heart failure can cause a number of symptoms including shortness of breath, leg swelling, and exercise intolerance. The condition...
.