Japanese psychiatrist (1939–2023)
Kenji Kosaka (小阪 憲司, Kosaka Kenji, 1939 – March 16, 2023) was a Japanese psychiatrist, known for his pioneer research on Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), which he first described.[1]
Life and career
Kosaka was born in Ise, Mie, and completed his M.D. in 1965 from Kanazawa University.[1] He was appointed a professor of psychiatry at Yokohama City University School of Medicine in 1991, before becoming a director of Yokohama City University Medical Center in 1995.[1] He was a director of Medical Care Court Clinic in Yokohama since 2011.[2]
Kosaka received the 2013 Asahi Prize for discovering Dementia with Lewy bodies.[3]
Kosaka died from aspiration pneumonia on March 16, 2023, at the age of 83.[4]
Contribution
In 1976, Kosaka described the concept of Dementia with Lewy bodies for the first time.[5] Two years later, he reported three autopsied cases of Dementia with Lewy bodies.[6]
The term Dementia with Lewy bodies was proposed at the first international workshop held in 1995, and is now in common use.[7]
References