!!!Loewi, Otto

b. Frankfurt am Main (Germany), June 3, 1873, 
d. New York (USA), Dec. 25, 1961, pharmacologist, physiologist, 
awarded the Nobel prize for Physiology and Medicine in 1936 (with H. 
H. Dale). for fundamental insights into the problems of the 
parasympathetic nervous system.1906 professor at the University of 
Vienna, 1909 to 1938 in Graz, from 1939 in New York. In Vienna he had 
studied the adrenaline-cocaine effect with A.  Froehlich. Proved that 
muscle movement is not a mechanical reaction but is triggered by the 
influence of chemical agents. Discovered that stimulation of the Vagus 
nerve causes production of a chemical agent which depresses heart 
function, while stimulation of the sympathetic nerve by a chemical 
mediator results in increased heart rate. Also explained the action of 
physostigmin, an alkaloid which prolongs the stimulation of the Vagus 
nerve. World fame and the Nobel prize did not prevent him from being 
arrested by the National Socialists, who extorted from him the Nobel 
prize money for permission to leave the country. 1950 awarded an 
honorary doctorate of philosophy by the University of Graz.

!Literature
NDB.



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