1906 DR. ALOIS ALZHEIMER
In a Biography about Alois Alzheimer, by the Alzheimer’s Disease Internation, They state that his career began in 1903. He was a research assistant for Emil Kraepelin at the Munich Medical School. It was at this school where he was allowed to build a lab that was dedicated to nothing but brain research. With the creation of this lab he was able to study many different conditions and diseases that affect the brain.
Many of these studies were soon published. But it wasn’t till a lecture he gave in 1906 that made him infinitely famous. It was on a patient to which he referred to as Auguste D. She was a woman in her fifties who suffered from memory loss, disorientation, hallucinations, and eventually death by the age of 55. When the autopsy of “Auguste D” was proformed they found that her brain wasn’t that of a normal 55 year old woman. Her brain had a thinned cerebral cortex and senile plaque was present which was usually only present in the elderly. Along with the senile plaque Alzheimer also found neurofibrillary tangles . Later Dr Alzheimer’s had his findings named after him.
Many of these studies were soon published. But it wasn’t till a lecture he gave in 1906 that made him infinitely famous. It was on a patient to which he referred to as Auguste D. She was a woman in her fifties who suffered from memory loss, disorientation, hallucinations, and eventually death by the age of 55. When the autopsy of “Auguste D” was proformed they found that her brain wasn’t that of a normal 55 year old woman. Her brain had a thinned cerebral cortex and senile plaque was present which was usually only present in the elderly. Along with the senile plaque Alzheimer also found neurofibrillary tangles . Later Dr Alzheimer’s had his findings named after him.
1974 The NIA
Heidi Godman points out in her article “ A Brief History of Alzheimer’s Disease” that NIA ( National Institute on Aging) was founded by congress in 1974. This is important because their mission is to better understand the aging process and promote a good quality of life to those who are aging. The NIA is also the primary source of funding for Alzheimer’s research in the US.
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1976 Dr. Robert Katzmen
In 1976 Dr. Robert Katzmen had a editorial published in the American Medical Associations “Archives of Neurology” called “The Prevalence and Malignancy of Alzheimer’s Disease. In this editorial he is quoted calling AD “A MAJOR KILLER”. It was this article that made Alzheimer’s a real threat and started getting the word about it on the streets that it was the most common type of Dementia .
In 1977 Dr. Robert Katzmen worked close with DR. Robert D. Terry to organize the first National Conference on AD. It was these conferences that made congress realize something needs to be done. Funding for Alzheimer’s research jumped from $5million in 1980 to $300 Million in the nineties, and by 2005 over $675 Million dollars went to Alzheimer’s research. |
1979/1980 Alzheimer's Association and Jerome Stone
According to the Chicago Sun Times, a Chicago news paper, Jerome stone was the founder of what is the Alzheimer's Association. Stone was a Chicago native who loved his wife dearly. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease in 1970. When he learned about his wife's diagnosis he went to medical books to learn what he could about his wife's conditions. He was shocked to learn that there was not much information about AD, for he had never heard of it till his wife. Most books had less than a page of information, and the only treatment was to go for care in a nursing home. He soon formed a support group which grew to six different groups that span across the country. These six groups are what originally formed the Alzheimer's Association. This Association soon made Alzheimer's front page news by the 90's which sparked public awareness of the disease. Now there are over 80 different chapters across the United States.
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1984 Beta-Amyloid Discovered
In 1984 high amounts of the proteins Beta-Amyloid and Tau were discovered in connection with Alzheimer's Disease. They are said to be the main markers in Alzheimer's Disease. Both of these proteins are believed to damage brain cells. The thing scientist can't figure out is if its the proteins that are causing Alzheimer's Disease, or if the proteins are a symptom of it.
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1987 Warner-Lambert Pharmaceutical Company
In Heidi Godmans' article She goes on to explain that Warner-Lambert Pharmaceutical Company, know we know them as pfizer, started a drug study in 1987. This pill would soon be known as Tacrine and marketed to the public in 1993. While it wasn't a cure it did treat many of the symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease. It was then followed with four more through out the years: donepezil in 1996,rivastigmine in 2000, galantamine in 2001,and lastly memantine in 2003.
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1987 The 21st GENE
1987 was a big year for Alzheimer's studies. Along with the first clinical drug trial, scientist also discovered a link between Alzheimer's and the 21st chromosome. The Alzheimer's Association states, "this gene on chromosome 21 codes amyloid precursor protein (APP), the parent molecule from which beta-amyloid is formed". The 21st chromosome is also linked to down syndrome. Scientist think this is why people with down syndrome suffer form Alzheimer's at an early age.
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1991 ADCS
In 1991 the NIA established the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study in partnership with the University of California. This was a national network of medical professionals who conducted government funded clinical trials and studies to learn about AD and to be able to develop treatments for this disease. They also responsible for heading Alzheimer's disease preventative initiative.
1993 THE RISK FACTOR
In 1993 Scientist learned that 19th chromosome may be significant to Alzheimer's disease. ALZ.org states that "Researchers identify APOE-e4, a form of the apolipoprotein-E (APOE) gene on chromosome 19, as the first gene that raises risk for Alzheimer's but does not determine that a person who has it will develop the disease".
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2003 Government Funded Genetic Study
In 2003 the government began to fund a gene study to track families that had multiple people in them that were treated for Alzheimer's. They would study the blood of multiple people form one family looking for genes that could possible be linked to AD.
NAPA 2011
NAPA is short for National Alzheimer’s Project Act This was a plan put in place by President Obama. It consists of 5 goals that are set in place and hoped to be reached by 2025. These goals include ways to develop effective prevention and treatment approaches for Alzheimer’s disease. They are going to focus on more research, make tools more accessible to clinicians, make help more accessible for care givers, and a awareness program to inform the public.
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