{{short description|British neurologist (1890–1981)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}} {{Use British English|date=March 2018}} {{Infobox person | name = Douglas McAlpine | image = <!-- just the filename, without the File: or Image: prefix or enclosing brackets --> | alt = | caption = | birth_name = Archibald Douglas McAlpine | birth_date = {{Birth date|1890|08|19|df=yes}} | birth_place = Garscadden, Glasgow | death_date = {{Death date and age|1981|02|04|1890|08|19|df=yes}} | death_place = | other_names = | occupation = Neurologist | known_for = ''McAlpine's Multiple Sclerosis'' }}
'''Archibald Douglas McAlpine''' (19 August 1890 – 4 February 1981) was a British neurologist who pioneered research into multiple sclerosis. His book ''Multiple sclerosis'', published first time in 1955, has since his death been published with the title ''McAlpine's Multiple Sclerosis'', and has become the standard reference for multiple sclerosis researchers.{{r|Francis2013}} Dr McAlpine was the first one to suggest mercury poisoning as the probable cause for the Minamata disease.
== Biography == McAlpine was born in Garscadden, Glasgow, on 19 August 1890,{{r|thepeerage}} the only son and eldest of three children of civil engineering contractor Sir Robert McAlpine, 1st Baronet (1847–1934) and his second wife Florence Margaret Palmer (1850–1910).{{r|Walton1999}}
He graduated in 1913 with a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery from Glasgow University. During World War I he served in the Royal Army Medical Corps and then as a Surgeon Lieutenant in the Royal Navy, where he was mentioned in dispatches. After taking his Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) in 1923 and working in junior hospital posts, he was appointed neurologist to the Middlesex Hospital in 1924.{{r|SheremataSheremata2010}} His students at Middlesex Hospital included renowned neurologist Paul Sandifer.{{r|munksroll}}
McAlpine served as a Brigadier in the Royal Army Medical Corps as an adviser in neurology to the South East Asia Command during World War II, and was mentioned in dispatches again.{{r|generals}}
In 1953, McAlpine was the leading light in the formation of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Great Britain. His book ''Multiple Sclerosis'' (1955) was recognised as the authoritative study of the disorder and was revised and updated in subsequent editions.{{r|scribd}}
In 1958, McAlpine was the first to suggest that the Minamata symptoms resembled those of organic mercury poisoning.{{r|Weiss}}{{r| Cavanagh2013}}
After retiring from the National Health Service, he worked for the World Health Organization on demyelinating disorders. He was member and fellow of Royal College of Physicians, London.
=== Private life === McAlpine married Elizabeth Meg Sidebottom (d. 1941) in 1917. The marriage produced two children: * Robert Douglas Christopher McAlpine (born 14 June 1919, d.2008), a diplomat and managing director of Baring Brothers, 1969–79. * Florence Mary Scott (born 24 August 1922).
He secondly married Diana Christina Dunscombe Plummer (d. 1981), daughter of Bertram Plummer, on 3 July 1945. The marriage produced one child, * Alastair Bertram McAlpine (born 23 Apr 1946).
== Works == * {{cite book | author1 = Douglas MacAlpine | author2 = Nigel Dean Compston | author3 = Charles Edward Lumsden | title = Multiple Sclerosis | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=UN8vmgEACAAJ | year = 1955 | publisher = E. & S. Livingstone | author-mask = 1 }} * {{cite book | author = Douglas McAlpine | title = Multiple Sclerosis: A Reappraisal by Douglas McAlpine | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Ict8NAAACAAJ | year = 1965 | publisher = Livingstone | author-mask = 1 }} * {{cite book | author1 = Douglas MacAlpine | author2 = Charles Edward Lumsden | author3 = Ernest D. Acheson | title = Multiple Sclerosis: A Reappraisal | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=IqVznQEACAAJ | year = 1968 | publisher = Livingstone | isbn = 9780443008252 | author-mask = 1 }} * {{cite book | author1 = Douglas McAlpine | author2 = Ernest Donald Acheson | author3 = Charles Edward Lumsden | title = Multiple Sclerosis: A Reappraisal [by] Douglas McAlpine, Charles E. Lumsden [and] E.D. Acheson | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=JO9emwEACAAJ | year = 1972 | isbn = 978-0-443-00825-2 | author-mask = 1 }}
== References == <references>
<ref name=" Cavanagh2013">{{cite web | author = J. B. Cavanagh | url = http://brain.oxfordjournals.org/content/123/1/195.full | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130824041845/http://brain.oxfordjournals.org/content/123/1/195.full | url-status = dead | archive-date = 2013-08-24 | title = The Pathology Of Minamata Disease | publisher = Brain.oxfordjournals.org | date = 2013-11-11 | accessdate = 2013-11-25 }}</ref> <ref name="Francis2013">{{cite web | author = Dr D. A. Francis | url = http://brain.oxfordjournals.org/content/123/7/1532.full | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160305012627/http://brain.oxfordjournals.org/content/123/7/1532.full | url-status = dead | archive-date = 2016-03-05 | title = McALPINE'S MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS. Third edition | publisher = Brain.oxfordjournals.org | date = 2013-11-11 | accessdate = 2013-11-25 }}</ref> <ref name="generals">{{cite web | url = https://www.generals.dk/general/McAlpine/Douglas/Great_Britain.html | title = Biography of Brigadier Douglas McAlpine (1890–1981), Great Britain | publisher = Generals.dk | date = 1942-10-21 | accessdate = 2013-11-25 }}</ref> <ref name="munksroll">{{cite web | url=http://munksroll.rcplondon.ac.uk/Biography/Details/3919 | title=Inspiring Physicians | RCP Museum }}</ref> <ref name="scribd">{{cite web | url = https://www.scribd.com/doc/115227682/McAlpine-s-multiple-sclerosis-4th-ed-Ublog-tk | title = McAlpine's.multiple.sclerosis.4th.ed Ublog.tk | publisher = Scribd.com | date = 2012-12-02 | accessdate = 2013-11-25 }}</ref> <ref name="SheremataSheremata2010">{{cite book | author1 = Professor of Neurology Miller School of Medicine University of Miami Miami Florida William A Sheremata | author2 = William A. Sheremata | title = 100 Questions & Answers About Multiple Sclerosis | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=zWYgRkcGmhgC&pg=PT114 | date = 15 November 2010 | publisher = Jones & Bartlett Publishers | isbn = 978-1-4496-1987-9 | pages = 114– | quote = The great Dr. Douglas McAlpine achieved international recognition for his specialization in MS at the Middlesex Hospital in London. Among his many original observations, he was the first to recognize that physical trauma increased the risk of ... }}</ref> <ref name="thepeerage">{{cite web | url = https://www.thepeerage.com/p32648.htm | title = Person Page 32648 | publisher = Thepeerage.com | date = | accessdate = 2013-11-25 }}</ref> <ref name="Walton1999">{{Cite ODNB| author = John N. Walton | url = http://oxfordindex.oup.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/31431 | title = McAlpine, (Archibald) Douglas (1890–1981), neurologist : Oxford Dictionary of National Biography | chapter = McAlpine, (Archibald) Douglas (1890–1981), neurologist | date = 1999-02-22 | doi = 10.1093/ref:odnb/31431 | isbn = 978-0-19-861412-8 | accessdate = 2013-11-25 }}</ref> <ref name="Weiss">{{cite web | author = Bernard Weiss1 | url = http://toxsci.oxfordjournals.org/content/97/2/223.full | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120428055725/http://toxsci.oxfordjournals.org/content/97/2/223.full | url-status = dead | archive-date = 2012-04-28 | title = Why Methylmercury Remains a Conundrum 50 Years after Minamata | publisher = Toxsci.oxfordjournals.org | date = | accessdate = 2013-11-25 }}</ref>
</references> {{Portal|Biography|Medicine}}
== External links == * {{Internet Archive author |sname=Douglas McAlpine |sopt=t}} * {{URL|http://munksroll.rcplondon.ac.uk/biography/Details/3004|Munks Roll Details for Douglas McAlpine}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mcalpine, Douglas}} Category:1890 births Category:1981 deaths Category:British neurologists Douglas Category:Medical doctors from Glasgow Category:Younger sons of baronets Category:Royal Navy Medical Service officers