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Sad news - passing of Dr. Richard Allen
Posted: Tue Jan 05, 2021 1:20 am
by Rustsmith
The Foundation announced today through their January e-News newsletter that Dr. Richard Allen passed. Dr. Allen was one of the foremost and earliest RLS researchers in the world. He worked at Johns Hopkins and was responsible for many of the breakthroughs that have defined our current understanding of RLS. He will be sorely missed by all of us who continue to hope for a cure.
Perhaps my greatest RLS disappointment was that shortly after I was first diagnosed, I was not selected to be part of Dr Allen's study that demonstrated the relationship between our insomnia and the over abundance of glutamate in our brains. I got through the first two selection stages to the final part where I spent about 45 minutes on the phone being interviewed by Dr Allen. Unfortunately, he concluded that my RLS was "too complex". When I got to speak with him before one of the sessions at the RLS patient symposium in San Diego, I finally figured out that "too complex" was Dr Allen's term for too severe. But I still wish that I could have played a role in that ground breaking study that finally proved that our insomnia is part of our RLS and not a side effect of our urges to move.
Re: Sad news - passing of Dr. Richard Allen
Posted: Tue Jan 05, 2021 4:46 am
by Yankiwi
From Dignity Memorial:
Richard Putnam Allen, 82, of Arnold, Maryland, passed away on December 9, 2020 at home, with his family by his side. The son of Gretchen (Putnam) and Dean Allen, born in Waterloo, Iowa, he graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1961. He would often regale his family with stories of hitch hiking from Iowa to Massachusetts. He earned his PhD from the University of Cambridge, UK, and still included several British pronunciations into his vernacular. He served as a Captain in the United States Army. Richard was the co-director and founder of the Johns Hopkins Sleep Disorder Center and the co-director and co-founder of the Center for RLS at Johns Hopkins University. He retired in September 2020 as a Professor in the Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University. Richard’s dedication to his students and his love for teaching were a primary focus of his professional life.
He was recognized by his peers with his recent award of Outstanding Scientific Achievement, for his novel and seminal discoveries that have made significant impact on the field of sleep and circadian rhythms, from the Sleep Research Society.
While Richard’s contributions to sleep research were ground breaking and his devotion to education was unwavering, his true love was his family.
Thank you for your research into RLS.
Re: Sad news - passing of Dr. Richard Allen
Posted: Tue Jan 05, 2021 5:30 am
by Polar Bear
A wonderful man.
We have all benefitted from his dedication to his work and to his patients.
Re: Sad news - passing of Dr. Richard Allen
Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2021 10:42 pm
by ViewsAskew
So grateful for this man and his efforts.
Re: Sad news - passing of Dr. Richard Allen
Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2021 3:56 am
by badnights
We wouldn't be where we are today if it wasn't for this man. Not just the work he did himself, but also he mentored generations of students who have gone on to study WED/RLS. His legacy continues.
Re: Sad news - passing of Dr. Richard Allen
Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2021 9:03 am
by ViewsAskew
badnights wrote: ↑Thu Jan 07, 2021 3:56 am
We wouldn't be where we are today if it wasn't for this man. Not just the work he did himself, but also he mentored generations of students who have gone on to study WED/RLS. His legacy continues.
Indeed.
Re: Sad news - passing of Dr. Richard Allen
Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2021 8:36 pm
by EeFall
Dr. Richard Allen saved my life! I spoke to him on the phone a few times about my RLS when I was at the end of the line and no drugs (or anything else) were working. He sent me to his colleague Dr. Earley at Johns Hopkins who got me off the 5 drugs I was taking for RLS and put me on Suboxone. Wow, I will forever be in their debt.
ViewsAskew wrote: ↑Sun Jan 10, 2021 9:03 am
badnights wrote: ↑Thu Jan 07, 2021 3:56 am
We wouldn't be where we are today if it wasn't for this man. Not just the work he did himself, but also he mentored generations of students who have gone on to study WED/RLS. His legacy continues.
Indeed.
Re: Sad news - passing of Dr. Richard Allen
Posted: Fri Feb 19, 2021 8:18 am
by badnights
A happy story. I remember how miserable and hopeless you were in those days.
I wish people like Drs Allen and Early and Buchfuhrer could close their eyes every time they were feeling low, and somehow
see one of the many lives they've helped, somehow know the happiness that would never have existed without them.