LeGrand N. Denslow: Pioneer in dermatology or charlatan?

Abstract

LeGrand N. Denslow (1852-1918) was a pioneer of American dermatology and one of its most controversial figures. His professional career revolved around the cities of New York; St. Paul; Minnesota; and London, England. In 1885, he became professor of skin diseases and genitourinary surgery, and secretary of the St. Paul Medical College, thus making him one of the earliest dermatologists to practice in the state of Minnesota. In 1908, Denslow created a sensation in the news media when he announced, in a paper read before the New York Academy of Medicine, that he had cured patients suffering from tabes dorsalis by treating various abnormalities that he had found in their urethras. Although some American physicians hailed Denslow's "cure" as a major advance in the treatment of tabetic patients, other physicians denounced his treatments as being worthless or, at best, providing minimal and transient symptomatic benefits. This contribution presents the highlights of Denslow's personal life and professional career. It also describes his urologic treatment of tabes dorsalis and the controversy that surrounded it.