Niels Ryberg Finsen wins Nobel Prize for Early Light Therapy Treatments
Scandinavian scientist Niels Ryberg Finsen suffered from Niemann-Pick disease, a metabolic disorder that affected his quality of life. Seeking to treat himself, Dr. Finsen sunbathed and investigated the effects of light on living organisms. He developed a theory of phototherapy that showed how specific wavelengths of light can have beneficial effects. Dr. Finsen was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1903, "in recognition of his contribution to the treatment of diseases, especially lupus vulgaris, with concentrated light radiation, whereby he has opened a new avenue for medical science."