[Adolf Abraham Gustav Bingel (1901-1982): pioneer of electroconvulsive treatment in Germany].

INTRODUCTION: Adolf Bingel, internal medicine specialist, neurologist and psychiatrist, was a pioneer in the establishment of electroconvulsive treatment (ECT) in Germany. Thanks to his dedication, the psychiatric department of the University of Erlangen was Germany's first clinic to offer ECT.
METHODS: We have analysed relevant archival material and the secondary literature.
RESULTS: As a consequence of denazification, Adolf Bingel was classified as a hanger-on by the Tribunal in Heidelberg. In 1946 the accredited German scientist moved to Houston as a "Paperclip-Boy". DISCUSSION: The ECT-pioneer Bingel has repeatedly been mistaken for the co-inventor of pneumo-encephalograpy, whose name was also Adolf Bingel. This confusion in names has to be corrected.
CONCLUSION: In 1957 Bingel was awarded the title Associate Professor Emeritus by the University of Erlangen. In 1959 he became Associate Professor of Neurology/Baylor University College in Houston/Texas. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.