Charles F. Barlow, MD, age 87, A Pioneer in Pediatric Neurology.
When Charles F. Barlow launched his career in pediatric neurology, knowledge about brain development in children was in its infancy. A pioneer in the nascent field, he was neurologist-in-chief at Children's Hospital in Boston and the Bronson Crothers Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School from 1963 until his retirement in 1990.

With this experimental background, be brought science to pediatric neurology, which was then a mostly clinical specialty. He developed the first research program in pediatric neurology at Children's Hospital, establishing the Mental Retardation Research Program, which he directed for 20 years. It was multidisciplinary and brought together researches in genetics, neuroscience and behavioral science in an era before such interdepartmental efforts became common.
He also established the Harvard-Longwood Neurology Program, one of the few training programs in pediatric neurology at that time and the only on that included training in both adult and pediatric neurology. He, himself, had trained in adult neurology at Johns Hopkins Hospital and in pediatrics at Children's Hospital. He was a graduate of Coe College in Iowa and received his MD from the University of Chicago.

Dr. Barlow died on December 11, 2010 while peacefully napping in his home in Cohasset at the age of 87.

When Dr. Barlow was recruited from the University of Chicago to the Harvard professorship, he was only 39. He was known for his research on the blood-brain barrier and for tracing the movement of blood and other fluids through the brain. Anatomical features of the brain had been mapped at that time, but not chemical pathways. Using radioisotopes for the first time in the brain, he traced fluid distribution in specific areas. This work was an important basis for finding treatments for brain disorders that can cross the blood-brain barrier, which serves a protective function in the brain.

Dr. Barlow was known for his quick diagnostic ability. "Those who worked with Charlie Barlow acquired a great respect and admiration for his skill," wrote David A. Stumpf, MD, PhD, one of more than 150 who trained under Dr. Barlow, in a tribute to him published in the Journal of Child Neurology in 1992. "He was often intuitive... . He instinctively gravitated to the key clues."

In 2010, a Charles F. Barlow Chair in the Department of Neurology at Children's Hospital was established.

Dr. Barlow was the author of two clinical textbooks: Mental Retardation and Related Disorders (1978) and Headaches and Migraines in Children (1984), a review of the literature that revealed the extent of this problem in children, in whom migraines can be difficult to diagnose. He also published numerous papers. To top off a career of awards and achievements, he was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Child Neurology Society in 2001.

Raised in Clear Lake, Iowa, Dr. Barlow's childhood hobby was magic. Calling himself the Great Barloni, he performed magic to help finance his college education. World War II broke out while he was at college and, sponsored by the Navy, he was accelerated through college and medical school and served as a medical officer on a ship in the Pacific and later at the U.S. Naval Hospitals during the Korean War.

He and Patricia (Keith), to whom he was married for 45 years until her death in 1998, were avid collectors of art and antiques. In addition to attending auctions, he enjoyed restoring furniture in his spare time. He leaves his daughter, Margaret Barlow and her husband, Robert Lydon of Cohasset; daughter Ellen Barlow of Easton, two grandsons, Alex and Charles Boyajian of Easton. He was the father of the late John K. Barlow, MD and the brother of Billie Boswell of Marshalltown, Iowa and Joanne Pierce of Houlton, Wisconsin.

Visiting hours

Omitted.

Service Information

A Celebration of His Life will be held on Saturday, December 18, 2010 at 1 pm in Dr. Barlow's home at 482 Jerusalem Rd., Cohasset, MA 02025.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Dr. Barlow's honor and memory, may be made to the Department of Neurology, Children's Hospital, 300 Longwood Ave., Boston, MA. 02115.