Alois AlzheimerBorn 14 Jun 1864; died 19 Dec 1915 at age 51.German psychiatrist who recognized the disease named after him. In Nov 1901, a 51-year old female patient with signs of dementia had been admitted to the Frankfurt hospital where Dr. Alzheimer was working. At a meeting German psychiatrists in Nov 1906, Alzheimer reported on this patient. The title of his lecture was Über eiene eigenartige Erkrankung der Hirnrinde (On a peculiar disorder of the cerebral cortex). Later on, at the suggestion of Emil Kraepelin, presenile dementia was designated “Alzheimer's disease.” This disease is a progressive, degenerative disorder that affects the brain. The first symptoms are loss of memory, inability to think and understand and gradual behaviour changes. Death follows in from 8 to 20 years.« |
