In memoriam: Dr. Kenneth R. Wilske (1935-2013)

Dr. Kenneth R. Wilske, an editorial adviser to Rheumatology News since 2003, died unexpectedly Sept. 17 of a pulmonary embolism while playing golf. He was 78.

Dr. Wilske was a leader in rheumatology in the Pacific Northwest and was a driving force in what he called the "step-down bridge" approach to treating rheumatoid arthritis. He also made important contributions to medicine’s understanding of giant cell arteritis and polymyalgia rheumatica.

Until his retirement in 2004, Dr. Wilske served as the section head of the division of rheumatology at the Virginia Mason Clinic in Seattle, which acknowledged his legacy by creating the Wilske Center for Translational Research. He also was a clinical professor of rheumatology at the University of Washington, Seattle, where he had trained as one of the first fellows in the division of rheumatology in 1962-1964 under Dr. John Decker.

Dr. Wilske remained an important member of the clinical faculty at the university in retirement. "We saw him regularly. He would come not only to rheumatology programs, but he was also a faithful attendee of medical grand rounds at the university. He saw patients with our fellows and attended our clinical conferences, and he was an insightful, very positive force in our program," said Dr. Peter A. Simkin, emeritus professor of medicine in the division of rheumatology at the university.

Dr. Wilske played a key role in building the Benaroya Research Institute (BRI) at Virginia Mason Clinic and served on many of its advisory boards and committees. Until his death, Dr. Wilske continued to work on the board of the BRI, which recognized his legacy after his retirement by establishing the Kenneth R. Wilske Lecture Series in Science and Medicine.

He served terms as president of the Northwest Society for Clinical Research and the Northwest Rheumatism Society and as a member of the Food and Drug Administration Arthritis Advisory Committee.

In 2000, the American College of Rheumatology honored him as a Master of Rheumatology and in the following year gave him its Distinguished Rheumatologist Award.

Dr. Wilske’s step-down bridge approach to the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis "was really a paradigm shift at the time," noted Dr. Jeffrey Carlin, who succeeded him as the section head of the division of rheumatology at Virginia Mason. In their original editorial on the subject, Dr. Wilske and his Virginia Mason colleague, Dr. Louis Andrew Healey, wrote that the step-down bridge concept involves taking advantage of different medication’s abilities and mechanisms of action in suppressing inflammation by "employing a combination of drugs to control inflammation in the critical early stages of RA," so that medications can be "sequentially withdrawn in contrast to the traditional pyramid, in which they have been sequentially added," without any greater problem of toxicity (J. Rheumatol. 1989;16:565-7).

"This concept has now become accepted and a standard approach to the therapy of rheumatoid arthritis and is becoming a paradigm and strategy for therapy for other rheumatic diseases and chronic inflammatory disorders," said Dr. Keith B. Elkon, head of the division of rheumatology at the University of Washington.

Dr. Wilske published 75 articles and abstracts. He was best known for his clinical research in polymyalgia rheumatica and giant cell arteritis, much of which was conducted with Dr. Healey. The two researchers "literally wrote the book on giant cell arteritis and made a lot of important contributions when it was really just first finding its way into the rheumatology panoply of conditions that we deal with," Dr. Simkin said.

Many of Dr. Wilske’s colleagues held in high regard not only his clinical acumen but also his interpersonal abilities. "He had a remarkably well-organized mindset, so that if you wanted a list of complications of any drug or the manifestations of any disease, it was always right on the tip of his tongue – just an excellent clinician," Dr. Simkin said.

"He was the kind of guy who could see a ridiculous number of people in the course of a day but somehow everybody felt as though they got his full attention. And yet he could still find time to have lunch and interact with his colleagues. I don’t know how he did it," Dr. Carlin said.

Dr. Wilske is survived by his wife, three daughters, and three granddaughters.

[email protected]

Dr. Kenneth R. Wilske, an editorial adviser to Rheumatology News since 2003, died unexpectedly Sept. 17 of a pulmonary embolism while playing golf. He was 78.

Dr. Wilske was a leader in rheumatology in the Pacific Northwest and was a driving force in what he called the "step-down bridge" approach to treating rheumatoid arthritis. He also made important contributions to medicine’s understanding of giant cell arteritis and polymyalgia rheumatica.

Until his retirement in 2004, Dr. Wilske served as the section head of the division of rheumatology at the Virginia Mason Clinic in Seattle, which acknowledged his legacy by creating the Wilske Center for Translational Research. He also was a clinical professor of rheumatology at the University of Washington, Seattle, where he had trained as one of the first fellows in the division of rheumatology in 1962-1964 under Dr. John Decker.

Dr. Wilske remained an important member of the clinical faculty at the university in retirement. "We saw him regularly. He would come not only to rheumatology programs, but he was also a faithful attendee of medical grand rounds at the university. He saw patients with our fellows and attended our clinical conferences, and he was an insightful, very positive force in our program," said Dr. Peter A. Simkin, emeritus professor of medicine in the division of rheumatology at the university.

Dr. Wilske played a key role in building the Benaroya Research Institute (BRI) at Virginia Mason Clinic and served on many of its advisory boards and committees. Until his death, Dr. Wilske continued to work on the board of the BRI, which recognized his legacy after his retirement by establishing the Kenneth R. Wilske Lecture Series in Science and Medicine.

He served terms as president of the Northwest Society for Clinical Research and the Northwest Rheumatism Society and as a member of the Food and Drug Administration Arthritis Advisory Committee.

In 2000, the American College of Rheumatology honored him as a Master of Rheumatology and in the following year gave him its Distinguished Rheumatologist Award.

Dr. Wilske’s step-down bridge approach to the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis "was really a paradigm shift at the time," noted Dr. Jeffrey Carlin, who succeeded him as the section head of the division of rheumatology at Virginia Mason. In their original editorial on the subject, Dr. Wilske and his Virginia Mason colleague, Dr. Louis Andrew Healey, wrote that the step-down bridge concept involves taking advantage of different medication’s abilities and mechanisms of action in suppressing inflammation by "employing a combination of drugs to control inflammation in the critical early stages of RA," so that medications can be "sequentially withdrawn in contrast to the traditional pyramid, in which they have been sequentially added," without any greater problem of toxicity (J. Rheumatol. 1989;16:565-7).

"This concept has now become accepted and a standard approach to the therapy of rheumatoid arthritis and is becoming a paradigm and strategy for therapy for other rheumatic diseases and chronic inflammatory disorders," said Dr. Keith B. Elkon, head of the division of rheumatology at the University of Washington.

Dr. Wilske published 75 articles and abstracts. He was best known for his clinical research in polymyalgia rheumatica and giant cell arteritis, much of which was conducted with Dr. Healey. The two researchers "literally wrote the book on giant cell arteritis and made a lot of important contributions when it was really just first finding its way into the rheumatology panoply of conditions that we deal with," Dr. Simkin said.

Many of Dr. Wilske’s colleagues held in high regard not only his clinical acumen but also his interpersonal abilities. "He had a remarkably well-organized mindset, so that if you wanted a list of complications of any drug or the manifestations of any disease, it was always right on the tip of his tongue – just an excellent clinician," Dr. Simkin said.

"He was the kind of guy who could see a ridiculous number of people in the course of a day but somehow everybody felt as though they got his full attention. And yet he could still find time to have lunch and interact with his colleagues. I don’t know how he did it," Dr. Carlin said.

Dr. Wilske is survived by his wife, three daughters, and three granddaughters.

[email protected]

Dr. Kenneth R. Wilske, an editorial adviser to Rheumatology News since 2003, died unexpectedly Sept. 17 of a pulmonary embolism while playing golf. He was 78.

Dr. Wilske was a leader in rheumatology in the Pacific Northwest and was a driving force in what he called the "step-down bridge" approach to treating rheumatoid arthritis. He also made important contributions to medicine’s understanding of giant cell arteritis and polymyalgia rheumatica.

Until his retirement in 2004, Dr. Wilske served as the section head of the division of rheumatology at the Virginia Mason Clinic in Seattle, which acknowledged his legacy by creating the Wilske Center for Translational Research. He also was a clinical professor of rheumatology at the University of Washington, Seattle, where he had trained as one of the first fellows in the division of rheumatology in 1962-1964 under Dr. John Decker.

Dr. Wilske remained an important member of the clinical faculty at the university in retirement. "We saw him regularly. He would come not only to rheumatology programs, but he was also a faithful attendee of medical grand rounds at the university. He saw patients with our fellows and attended our clinical conferences, and he was an insightful, very positive force in our program," said Dr. Peter A. Simkin, emeritus professor of medicine in the division of rheumatology at the university.

Dr. Wilske played a key role in building the Benaroya Research Institute (BRI) at Virginia Mason Clinic and served on many of its advisory boards and committees. Until his death, Dr. Wilske continued to work on the board of the BRI, which recognized his legacy after his retirement by establishing the Kenneth R. Wilske Lecture Series in Science and Medicine.

He served terms as president of the Northwest Society for Clinical Research and the Northwest Rheumatism Society and as a member of the Food and Drug Administration Arthritis Advisory Committee.

In 2000, the American College of Rheumatology honored him as a Master of Rheumatology and in the following year gave him its Distinguished Rheumatologist Award.

Dr. Wilske’s step-down bridge approach to the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis "was really a paradigm shift at the time," noted Dr. Jeffrey Carlin, who succeeded him as the section head of the division of rheumatology at Virginia Mason. In their original editorial on the subject, Dr. Wilske and his Virginia Mason colleague, Dr. Louis Andrew Healey, wrote that the step-down bridge concept involves taking advantage of different medication’s abilities and mechanisms of action in suppressing inflammation by "employing a combination of drugs to control inflammation in the critical early stages of RA," so that medications can be "sequentially withdrawn in contrast to the traditional pyramid, in which they have been sequentially added," without any greater problem of toxicity (J. Rheumatol. 1989;16:565-7).

"This concept has now become accepted and a standard approach to the therapy of rheumatoid arthritis and is becoming a paradigm and strategy for therapy for other rheumatic diseases and chronic inflammatory disorders," said Dr. Keith B. Elkon, head of the division of rheumatology at the University of Washington.

Dr. Wilske published 75 articles and abstracts. He was best known for his clinical research in polymyalgia rheumatica and giant cell arteritis, much of which was conducted with Dr. Healey. The two researchers "literally wrote the book on giant cell arteritis and made a lot of important contributions when it was really just first finding its way into the rheumatology panoply of conditions that we deal with," Dr. Simkin said.

Many of Dr. Wilske’s colleagues held in high regard not only his clinical acumen but also his interpersonal abilities. "He had a remarkably well-organized mindset, so that if you wanted a list of complications of any drug or the manifestations of any disease, it was always right on the tip of his tongue – just an excellent clinician," Dr. Simkin said.

"He was the kind of guy who could see a ridiculous number of people in the course of a day but somehow everybody felt as though they got his full attention. And yet he could still find time to have lunch and interact with his colleagues. I don’t know how he did it," Dr. Carlin said.

Dr. Wilske is survived by his wife, three daughters, and three granddaughters.

[email protected]