Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive, degenerative brain disease that impairs memory, thinking, and behavior. AD, named after Alois Alzheimer, a German neurologist who published his observations of a patient, Augusta, D., in 1906, is the most common form of dementia, comprising 60% of all dementias. AD has been previously known as dementia of the Alzheimer type, senile dementia of the Alzheimer type, and Alzheimer's dementia.

AD currently affects about 4.5 million men and women in the United States, with an annual cost of $100 billion, and the number of persons with AD is expected to rise to 16 million by the year 2050. The incidence of AD increases with age, affecting up to 50% of people above the age of 85, although rare in those ...