Читать книгу The SAGE Encyclopedia of Stem Cell Research - Группа авторов - Страница 82

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 specific amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. The diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease is mostly clinical, with only a limited number being diagnosed on brain biopsy. However, there have been reports that the specific pathological changes can exist without the concomitant clinical manifestations of the disease.