Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of acquired cognitive behavioral impairment and dementia. The disease has a long progressive natural course that interferes with social and occupational functioning. To date, there are no cured cases. Hippocampal/cerebral plaques are most prominently known to impair memory encryption, thinking, and decision-making processes. It is still unclear if the plaques themselves cause the disease or are the result of an underlying pathology. The disease is named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer, a German psychiatrist who first observed short-term memory loss and anomalous behavioral changes in a 51-year-old female patient, Mrs. Auguste D., at a Frankfurt asylum in 1901. After her death in 1906, Dr. Alzheimer performed microscopic examination of brain sections that led to identification of the disease ...