(Hypertension. 1998;31:1.)
© 1998 American Heart Association, Inc.
In Memoriam |
Edgar E. Haber
1932–1997
An extract of the first 250 words of the full text is provided, because this article has no abstract. |
Cardiovascular medicine lost a major leader, scientist, and teacher when Dr Edgar Haber died on October 13, 1997. The cause of death was multiple myeloma. He was 65 years old.
Dr Edgar Haber’s contributions to cardiovascular medicine, in particular to hypertension research, were numerous and impressive. His research elucidated the fundamental mechanisms of cardiovascular disease and paved the way for modern diagnostics and therapeutics for hypertension, myocardial ischemia, and digoxin toxicity. Dr Haber was the first to develop antibody to angiotensin and designed the first radioimmunoassay for renin activity. His team purified human and canine renins and developed renin antibodies which permitted the conclusive demonstration of renin’s role in blood pressure regulation. He was responsible for the first synthesis of renin inhibitor and its application in human investigation. Dr Haber developed digoxin antibody and invented a radioimmunoassay, both of which have been useful in the monitoring of digoxin therapy and for the diagnosis of digoxin toxicity. Using the digoxin Fab fragment, he and his colleagues developed Digibind as a therapeutic tool for treating digoxin toxicity. Dr Haber utilized immunological techniques for other cardiovascular applications, including cardiovascular imaging, such as the use of antimyosin antibody for the detection of myocardial necrosis and the development of antibodies to fibrin and tissue plasminogen activator for targeted thrombolytic therapy. He was a pioneer in molecular and cellular cardiology. Recently, he and his colleagues elucidated the genetic basis for atherosclerosis and vascular injury.
Dr Edgar Haber was born in Berlin, Germany. He earned his undergraduate