Читать книгу The Alzheimer's Epidemic - Danton O'Day - Страница 13

Unofficially, Alzheimer’s disease has been around as long as human beings have existed as thinking entities. It didn’t become an official disease until it was properly diagnosed by Alois Alzheimer. Dr. Alzheimer described the behavioral characteristics of Alzheimer’s disease over 100 years ago, which in itself was a major medical advancement. His work, however, went much further. He also delved into the underlying changes in the brain that were associated with the disease. To this day, his prescience defined the three primary neurological attributes of Alzheimer’s disease: the appearance of senile plaque and tangles coupled with the death of brain cells (Figure 1.2). These are still the primary criteria that are used today for defining the disease. As such, while plaques and tangles are introduced later in this chapter and will be covered throughout this volume, they are presented in much greater detail in Chapters 6 and 7.

Figure 1.2. Alois Alzheimer discovered the primary hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease: plaques and tangles.