Eulogy Antonio J. Reginato

Professor Antonio J. Reginato has been an august presence in our lives, whether it be from behind a lectern, behind the microscope while examining a crystal, or taking his turn behind the binoculars to contemplate the flight of a multicolored Tucan in the wilderness of Costa Rica. He was as persuasive and engaging in his work at the Executive Committee Meetings and General Assemblies to the design of PANLAR and the Latin American study groups of the ACR strategies as he was when tasting oysters in Boston with his wife Elba, sipping a glass of wine in Bangkok or discussing the origin of pisco sour in Lima.We have been fortunate enough to share these experiences with Professor Antonio Reginato, a Master of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), and these memories inspire the lines written here.

Professor Reginato was one of our Latin physicians who triumphed in North America and is not forgotten in South America, someone who managed to dissolve the existential doubts that plague us when as students of medicine we receive our title of physician and surgeon in the Latin American countries. Do we stay or immigrate? Facilities for professional enrichment, economic perspectives and family/environmental ties; three factors that each of us pondered separately, orbiting in our minds and gravitating us toward a decision -- three factors that may always pull us in different directions. From our perspective, the milestones in the life of Professor Antonio are indices of this process.

Dr. Reginato received his medical degree from the University of Chile Medical School, Santiago, Chile in 1959.He completed his Internal Medicine residency at San Juan de Dios Hospital, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile, from 1960-1963 and practiced Internal Medicine in the Chilean Patagonia from 1963-1966.He trained first as a clinical rheumatology Fellow in 1966-1968, and later on in 1971-1973 as a research Fellow at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, under Drs. Joseph Lee Hollander and Ralph Schumaker respectively.In 1977 he did a second internship in Internal Medicine at Hershey Medical Center, Pennsylvania State University, Hershey, PA.Dr. Reginato was Board Certified in Rheumatology and Internal Medicine and a Fellow of the American College of Rheumatology, American College of Physicians, and American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.He served as Head of the Rheumatology Section at Salvador Hospital, University of Chile, from 1977-1978 and also served as the Chief of the Rheumatology Section, Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, Pennsylvania, from 1979-1981, and as Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania from 1982-1994.Since 1982 Dr. Reginato has been a Professor of Medicine at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in Camden, New Jersey, and also served as the Chief of Rheumatology at Cooper Hospital/University Medical Center, Camden, New Jersey.Founder of the Rheumatology Training Program at the Robert Wood Johnson University, he trained 61 Rheumatologists and Visiting Professors (USA 36, South America 20, Europe 5).

We rheumatologists have benefited from Dr. Reginato’s extensive publications regarding crystal induced arthritis, osteoarthritis, sarcoidosis, synovial fluid analysis, adult Still’s disease, and metabolic bone diseases, among others (150 articles, 37 book chapters, 3 textbooks, 1 compact disc and 120 abstract presentations). Without a doubt, his devotion to unraveling the mysteries offamilial CPPD has left us a great gift, from his initial report from his beloved Chiloe Islands to his most recent publications regarding its genetic inheritance.

He was the recipient of several teaching awards as well as Training Fellowship (1978) and International Professorship (1996) by the American College of Physicians, Philadelphia, PA.He served on the editorial board of The Journal of Clinical Rheumatology, Philadelphia, PA; Clinical Rheumatology; Journal of the International League of Associations for Rheumatology;Revista Mexicana deReumatologia; Revista Peruana de Reumatologia; Revista Brasilena deReumatologia;Medicina y Cultura, Mexico; and Dolor e Inflamacion, Spain; Boletin-IberoAmericano de Reumatologicia, Lisbon, Portugal.He was a member of the International Advisory Committee for the ACR.He was the recipient of honorary memberships of Rheumatology and Internal Medicine societies from Spain, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Uruguay and Venezuela.He was also a member of the Executive Committee of the International League Against Rheumatism (ILAR).

All of these accomplishments are testimony to his knowledge and expertise. We will solely add that his death leaves us with a large void very difficult to fill. His legacy serves as an example for us to continue the fight for an united Pan American League of all Americas that supercedes treacherous and desperate voices, and at the same time sends a strong message to alert, prevent, diagnose and efficiently treat our rheumatic patients in Anglo and Latin America. The union of health care providers and the optimal use of communication are the tools needed to achieve the aspirations of more than 60 years of labor of our organization.

Professor Antonio, let your star guide us and your spirit help us.

Juan Angulo, MD
President –PANLAR

Luis R. Espinoza, M.D.
Secretary- PANLAR