Mariano Semmola (1831-1895): the effect of low protein diet in primary albuminuria

Mariano Semmola (1831-1895), the first Italian professor of pharmacology and clinical pharmacology, was born into a family of illustrious intellectuals and trained as a fellow of Claude Bernard, Trousseau and Rayer in Paris. His scientific activity included both animal investigations and clinical research. He is credited with important contributions to several areas of clinical medicine, from infectious diseases (cholera, and tuberculosis) to renal, cardiovascular and liver diseases. He had a lifelong interest in chronic Bright's disease. His seminal papers in that field were published in international journals and presented at international congresses and the most important European academies. As a scientist of great charisma and international reputation, he received many academic and governmental awards and even served in the Italian Parliament. His name is linked in particular with the hematogenous-dyscrasic theory of Bright's disease. He made important contributions to the pathogenesis of "large white kidneys", as well as to the albuminuria-dependent lesion in renal disease. He also described in Bright's disease the effects of nitrogen-poor diets on specific gravity, albuminuria and urea excretion. It is evident from the renal literature from 1850 to 1908 that he achieved fame as a scientist, and that his theories on kidney disease were adopted in clinical practice.