In memoriam:
Irmina B. Zelman (1927–2010)

Our dear friend and a valu­ed colleague Irmina B. Zelman passed away on January 17th, 2010. Polish Society of Neuropathology has lost a distinguished colleague and respec­ted teacher.
We believe that it is very appropriate to dedicate a few words in this issue of Folia Neuropathologica to the me-mory of Professor Zelman because of her long lasting contribution to the editorial board of the journal. From 1972 to 1980 and from 1991 to 1992, she was the Editor-in Chief of Neuropatologia Polska – the predecessor of Folia Neuro-pathologica and from 1985 to 1990 she was a very active Associate Editor of Neuropatologia Polska. In 1994 she became a member of the Editorial Board of Folia Neuropathologica.
Profesor Irmina B. Zelman was born on December 22, 1927 in Złotokłos, near Warsaw. She was graduated from High School of Psychic Hygiene in 1952 in Warsaw and from Warsaw Medical Academy as a medical doctor in 1957.
First and foremost, she was a prominent neuropatologist and scientist with a long and productive career in experimental pathology and related areas of clinical neuropathology. In 1958 she joined the newly formed Department of Histopathology of Nervous System in Warsaw and in 1959 she was engaged in the Department of Neuropathology at the Polish Academy of Science in Warsaw. In 1963 she received her Ph.D. degree from the Medical Academy where she successfully defended her thesis entitled “Connective tissue organization of foci of demielinization in disseminated and diffuse sclerosis”. In 1968 she completed her habilitation thesis dealing with blood-brain barrier in normal condition and in vascular pathology. In 1970 she was appointed Assistant Professor in the Department of Neuropathology at the Medical Research Centre of Polish Academy of Sciences. In 1976 she became a co-chairman of Department of Neuropathology and from 1978 to 1985 she was a Chairman of Experimental Centre of Comparative Neurology at the Medical Research Centre of the Polish Academy of Scien­ces in Mińsk Mazowiecki. From 1986 to 1992 she acted as a Head of the Department of Neuropathology in Medical Research Centre of the Polish Academy of Sciences. From 1991 to 2002 she worked part time in the Department of Neuropatho­logy and in 2002 she retired.
Professor Irmina B. Zelman was a member of se-veral professional bodies, including the Polish Association of Neuropathology and International Society of Neuropathology. In 1987 she was awarded a Cross of Poland’s Revival.
Her research included basic and clinical neuro-pathology and focused on encephalitides, leucoencephalopaties, leucodystrophies, neurodegenerative disorders as well as on the basic mechanisms involved in ageing of the brain and Alzheimer’s disease. Her experimental studies were focused on pathomorphology in experimental brain edema, quibain encephalopathy, hypoglycemia, intoxications and the characteristics of morphological changes in the PT rabbits. Key areas of her latest research dealt with neuropathological changes in the course of acquired immune deficiency syndrome – AIDS, including progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), cerebral lymphomas and opportunistic infections. The studies were based on a significant collection of 172 cases of AIDS in adults. Her long collaboration with Prof. Mossakowski in this area was particularly fruitful.
She was an author of many original papers. She also wrote a chapter to the book of ”Basic of Neuro-pathology” entitled ”Metabolic diseases of the ner­-vous system”.
She was a wonderful person not only by virtue of her dedication to research and teaching, but also due to her warm heart and great manners. She was kind and gentle, always approachable and helpful to others. For this we are profoundly grateful. She will be deeply missed by all who knew her.

Ewa Matyja
Editor-in Chief

Milena Laure-Kamionowska
Asssociate Editor