Adolf Jarisch

Who was Adolf Jarisch?

Adolf Jarisch was an Austrian dermatologist born in Vienna.

He studied medicine in Vienna, and afterwards worked in the dermatology clinic of Ferdinand von Hebra. Later he became head of the dermatology clinic at the Universities of Innsbruck and Graz. His son, also named Adolf Jarisch, was a noted pharmacologist.

Jarisch is remembered for his work involving venereal disease. His name is lent to an inflammatory reaction to treatment of syphilis known as the "Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction", a symptom named in conjunction with German-Jewish dermatologist Karl Herxheimer. Jarisch noticed unexpected illness and worsening of skin lesions in some syphilitic patients immediately after being treated with mercury. The patients would experience fever, nausea, vomiting, plus their lesions would worsen before eventually abating and healing. The illness could last as long as 2–3 days, which was then followed by resolution of the skin lesions. The Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction is also the name given to a reaction often precipitated by treatment of relapsing fevers. It usually begins within a few hours of the first dose and causes an initial rise in temperature, pulse rate and blood pressure, then followed by marked vasodilation & sweating, which can result in shock.