As healthcare advances , humans are living longer than ever and dementia cases are rising . Dementia is a general term for mental decline , which causes problems with memory , language and behaviour .

Alzheimer ’ s is the most common cause of dementia , which accounts for 60 % of cases .

Alois Alzheimer finds plaque on post-mortem brains

In 1906 , Alzheimer , a psychiatrist , began studying post-mortem brains . While studying the brain of Auguste Deter , a 50-yearold woman who had died with dementia symptoms , he spotted microscopic plaque . This plaque is what causes mental decline , as the brain struggles to send or receive information through the plaque .

Alois Alzheimer names the disease

After further study of post-mortem brains and collaboration with colleagues also interested in solving the root of mental decline in the elderly , the disease , was named after Alzheimer . A few years later , just after gaining the chair of psychiatry in Breslau , Alois Alzheimer died aged 51 .

Alzheimer ' s recognised as the most common cause of dementia

In a scientific journal , American neurologist Robert Katzman describes Alzheimer ' s disease as a “ major killer ” and as the fourth leading cause of death in the US , following heart disease , cancer and stroke . The results of Katzman ’ s study create more understanding around the subject of mental decline .

14 March 2022