Alzheimer's Disease
Getting to know the disease
Alzheimer's disease is a neurodegenerative disease (progressive brain damage leading to the death of neurons) characterised by a progressive loss of memory and certain intellectual (cognitive) functions. The disease impacts everyday activities, as it leads to the patient's disadaptation to society and loss of independence. It was first described by Aloïs Alzheimer, a Bavarian neuropsychiatrist and neuropathologist, on 3 November 1906 at the 37th Conference of South-West German Psychiatrists, and has been named after him ever since.
Because of its frequency, severity and financial and social costs, understanding, preventing and managing Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders are a major challenge of this century.
