Bergstrom, Sune Karl (1916-2004), a Swedish biochemist, shared the 1982 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine with fellow Swede Bengt Samuelsson, and with John Vane of the United Kingdom. The three men received the prize for discoveries about prostaglandins and related substances. Prostaglandins are substances resembling hormones. They play a role in a variety of functions, including reproduction, metabolism, allergic reactions, nerve-impulse transmission, muscle contraction, and blood pressure regulation. See Prostaglandin .
Bergstrom determined the composition of two prostaglandins, called PGE and PGF. He also demonstrated that prostaglandins are formed in the body from substances called unsaturated fatty acids, which are produced by the digestion of fats. Bergstrom reasoned that prostaglandins could be used to treat high blood pressure, blocked blood vessels, and other problems of the circulatory system because of their ability to relax muscle tissue. He also isolated prostaglandins that cause uterine and intestinal muscle contraction, and doctors have since used these substances to induce labor.
Bergstrom was born on Jan. 10, 1916, in Stockholm Sweden. He studied medicine and chemistry at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. Bergstrom did research at Columbia University in the United States, at the Karolinska Institute, and at the University of Basel in Switzerland. He was professor of chemistry at the Karolinska Institute from 1958 to 1980. He served as chairman of the board of the Nobel Foundation from 1975 to 1987. Bergstrom died on Aug. 15, 2004.
