Alzheimer's disease

Or Alz·hei·mer disease

[ahlts-hahy-merz, alts-, awlts-]

noun

Pathology.

1. a common form of dementia, believed to be caused by changes in the brain, usually beginning in late middle age, characterized by memory lapses, confusion, emotional instability, and progressive loss of mental ability.

Alzheimer's disease

/ ˈæltsˌhaɪməz /

noun

1. Often shortened to: Alzheimer's. a disorder of the brain resulting in a progressive decline in intellectual and physical abilities and eventual dementia

Alzheimer's disease

1. A progressive, degenerative disease of the brain, commonly affecting the elderly, and associated with the development of amyloid plaques in the cerebral cortex. It is characterized by confusion, disorientation, memory failure, speech disturbances, and eventual dementia. The cause is unknown. Alzheimer's disease is named for its identifier, German psychiatrist Alois Alzheimer (1864–1915).

Alzheimer's disease

1. A disease in which mental capacity decreases because of the breakdown of brain cells.

Alzheimer's disease is a major cause of loss of intellectual function in middle-aged and elderly people.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Alzheimer's disease¹

Named after Alois Alzheimer (1864–1915), German neurologist, who described it in 1907

Word History and Origins

Origin of Alzheimer's disease¹

C20: named after A. Alzheimer (1864–1915), German physician who first identified it