One of the problems associated with age is memory loss. Upon reaching old age, many people suffer from dementias, which are disabling and generate much psychological distress, both for those who suffer from it and for their immediate environment.

Of the diseases in which there is significant memory loss, the most famous is Alzheimer’s, characterized by a decrease in the thickness of the cerebral cortex and abnormalities in the neurons.

In this article we will see, as a summary, a biography of Alois Alzheimer, the discoverer of the disease that bears his name and that is behind most cases of dementia.

Biography of Alois Alzheimer’s

Alois Alzheimer was a German neurologist and psychiatrist born in Bavaria, Germany , on June 14, 1864. He died on December 19, 1915 in Wroclaw, now Wrocław, Poland, at the age of 51.

Already in the years he was going to school he showed interest in science, excelling as a student. For this reason, and following his father’s advice, he decided to study medicine, being the first in his family to opt for this career.

Vocational training

In 1883 he began his medical studies at the Friedrich Wilhelm University in Berlin, however, five months after starting, he moved to the University of Wurzburg. During the winter semester of 1886 to 1887 he studied at the Eberhard Karls University in Tübingen. When he returned from that stay, he decided to deepen his knowledge in histology and embryology, under the guidance of the Swiss anatomist Albert von Kölliker . Von Kölliker supervised the doctoral thesis on Alzheimer’s disease: “On the ceruminous glands”.

Although histological studies of Alzheimer’s disease initially addressed different parts of the human body, I believed that the study of body tissues could be very useful in clarifying the biological causes behind psychological disorders.

In 1888 he graduated in medicine and was licensed to practice medicine throughout the German Empire. That same year he began to work at the Municipal Asylum for the Demented and Epileptic in Frankfurt, where he showed his great talents as a doctor. In that same city he met Franz Nissl , a great psychiatrist and medical researcher, and they developed a great friendship.

Both carried out several neuropathological studies together and considered that the mechanical containment of patients with mental disorders should be reduced, promoting the autonomy and freedom of those admitted. They considered that a good method for calming patients was spa baths. Together they tried to find out what the organic bases of mental disorders were . In 1896 he succeeded Nissl as head of the Frankfurt asylum.

Several years later, in 1903, Emil Kraepelin, who is considered the founder of modern psychiatry, invites Alois Alzheimer to join his clinic in Heidelberg. Despite the great opportunity this presented, Alzheimer’s was only in the clinic for about six months.

Research and work: Auguste D. case

During his years in Frankfurt, Alzheimer’s had the opportunity to meet the case of a patient who would make him famous: Auguste D.

Auguste D. was a 51-year-old patient who had been admitted because she presented a very advanced state of memory loss . At first, about six months before admission, her symptoms had been attacks of jealousy, in which she thought her husband was having an affair with a neighbour. After that, about two weeks later, she began to have memory problems, even forgetting completely about aspects of her life, which prevented her from doing her housework.

Alzheimer’s kept track of Auguste D.’s dementia progression, noting any new symptoms or remarkable behavior. The patient never received any treatment other than baths to calm her down.

When Auguste D. died, Alzheimer proceeded to study his brain , convinced that the symptoms had a neurological explanation. He took samples, coloured them with chemical dyes and saw that, unlike healthy neurons, those of the patient had a peculiarity never seen in other patients before. In addition to having senile plaques, composed of extracellular matter, in Auguste D.’s brain there was neurofibrillary degeneration, that is, changes in the structures of the neurons.

After this case, and once he had published several studies, in 1906 Alzheimer presented the disease detected in Aguste D. at the conference that would catapult him as a famous scientist. At the 37th Southwest German Psychiatric Conference, Alzheimer presented his research under the title On a specific disease of the cerebral cortex . He indicated that he had been studying an unusual neurodegenerative disease affecting the cerebral cortex whose main symptoms were memory loss, spatial-temporal disorientation, hallucinations and death.

Although initially Alzheimer’s considered the disease it had discovered to be rare, the truth is that it is one of the most common causes behind dementias. It was Kraepelin who named the disease Alzheimer in honour of its discoverer in 1910 in the eighth edition of the Manual of Psychiatry.

In 1912, Alois Alzheimer was appointed ordinary professor of psychiatry and took over the direction of the psychiatric and mental clinic of the University of Breslau.

Death and Legacy

In 1913, on his way to Breslau to take up his newly appointed position as head of the department of psychology at the Friedrich-Wilhelm University, Alzheimer’s disease was accompanied by a severe cold worsened by endocarditis , which was the cause of his death in 1915.

Only 5 years after the death of Alzheimer’s, the disease was already widely known in the scientific community. Researchers of the stature of Ramón y Cajal tackled Alzheimer’s disease experimentally in order to confirm the findings that the German doctor had found.

Alzheimer’s disease has been one of the great concerns since it was described . It implies a serious worsening both in the autonomy of the patient and in the dynamics of his/her family environment. Many research groups have tackled this disease and thanks to their findings drugs have been produced that help to slow down the development of the disease.

Also, thanks to the fact that it was possible to give a name to this disease, there are many foundations dedicated to raising awareness of the disease in society, such as the Pasqual Maragall Foundation, in addition to having an international Alzheimer’s day (September 21).

Although it has been more than a hundred years since Alzheimer’s described it, the truth is that not everything is known about this disease, which has come to be considered the epidemic of the 21st century.

Bibliographic references:

  • García, S. and Villagómez-Ortiz, A. J. (2008). Alois Alzheimer: doctor of all times. Revista de Especialidades Médico-Quirúrgicas, 13(1), 1-2