Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive neurological disorder that slowly destroys memory and cognitive functions, representing the most common form of dementia today. Its defining characteristics include severe memory loss, confusion, and behavioral changes that worsen over time as brain cells deteriorate. Understanding the origin of this specific name requires a look back at the early 20th-century German medical community and the work of psychiatrist Alois Alzheimer.
Alois Alzheimer The Pioneering Psychiatrist
The man whose name became synonymous with this disease was Alois Alzheimer, a German psychiatrist and neuropathologist born in 1864. He pursued his medical studies at several universities, including Berlin, Tübingen, and Würzburg, graduating in 1887. Alzheimer began his professional career in 1888 at the City Asylum for Lunatics and Epileptics in Frankfurt am Main.
His time in Frankfurt established his deep interest in the physical basis of mental illness. He worked closely with Franz Nissl, a neurologist who had developed innovative chemical stains to visualize the internal structures of brain cells. This collaboration honed Alzheimer’s skills in microscopy and histopathology, preparing him for later research into brain tissue analysis.
In 1902, Alzheimer left Frankfurt to join the psychiatrist Emil Kraepelin, initially in Heidelberg and then at the Royal Psychiatric Hospital in Munich. Kraepelin was one of the most influential figures in classifying psychiatric disorders, and Alzheimer’s move positioned him at the center of neuropathological research.
The Initial Case Study and Discovery
The foundation for the disease’s discovery was laid during Alzheimer’s tenure in Frankfurt when he encountered a patient named Auguste Deter. In 1901, the 51-year-old woman was admitted to the asylum exhibiting a rapid onset of severe memory loss, disorientation, and paranoia. Her symptoms included difficulty reading and writing, unpredictable behavior, and profound confusion about her surroundings.
Her relatively young age for such a severe cognitive decline—which was typically associated with much older patients—piqued Alzheimer’s scientific curiosity. Auguste Deter died in April 1906, and Alzheimer, who had since moved to Munich, arranged to receive her brain and medical records for post-mortem analysis. Using the specialized staining techniques he had mastered, Alzheimer examined thin slices of her cerebral cortex.
The examination revealed two abnormal structures that were the physical manifestation of her disease. He observed dense, sticky deposits outside the nerve cells, which are now known as amyloid plaques. He also identified twisted fibers accumulating inside the neurons, which he termed neurofibrillary tangles. This observation was the first time that microscopic brain pathology had been definitively linked to the clinical symptoms of severe cognitive deterioration.
How the Disease was Named and Popularized
Dr. Alzheimer presented his findings on Auguste Deter’s case in November 1906 at the 37th Congress of South-West German Psychiatrists in Tübingen. His lecture, titled “A peculiar severe disease process of the cerebral cortex,” received a modest reception and generated little discussion among the attendees. The full significance of his discovery was not immediately recognized.
The formal naming of the condition came not from Alzheimer himself, but from his mentor and colleague, Emil Kraepelin. Kraepelin, who believed that mental illnesses had an organic, physical basis, recognized the importance of Alzheimer’s pathological findings. He decided to honor his colleague by including the newly identified condition in his textbook, Psychiatrie.
In the 8th edition of his textbook, published in 1910, Kraepelin formalized the new disease entity, labeling it “Alzheimer’s Disease” (Alzheimerische Krankheit). This act by such an influential figure cemented the name in the international medical lexicon. Kraepelin’s action ensured the widespread recognition and adoption of the term, establishing the foundation for all future research into the disorder.