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The Week in Germany: Business and Technology November 3, 2006 100 Years of Alzheimer’s Disease Subject of Tuebingen Conference When the German psychiatrist Alois Alzheimer presented his paper “Regarding a curious disease of the cortex” in Tuebingen on November 3, 1906, it did not receive as much attention as he hoped, according to his biographer Klaus Mauerer. This weekend, a conference at the University of Tuebingen will focus on 100 years of research that eventually made Alzheimer a household name.
At a public opening event, speakers including former state premier of Baden Wuerttemberg Erwin Teufel and the Swiss author Martin Suter (Small World) will examine the history and future of Alzheimer’s through the lenses of medicine, history, politics, art, and theology. Scientists will also attend lectures intended to illuminate the state of research and the future challenges in fighting Alzheimer’s. Up to 1 million of Germany’s 82 million people suffer from the disease, and 20 million worldwide are estimated to have the disease. The conference organizers point out that the number of people over age 65 is expected to increase 25-30 percent by 2030 in Germany and most other industrialized nations, pushing Alzheimer’s disease squarely onto the agenda of policymakers. Although no cure has been found for Alzheimer’s disease, much has been learned since Dr. Alzheimer first observed it in the 51 year-old patient Auguste Deter. “When Alzheimer first announced his discovery, he saw only the final stage and had no idea about the dynamics of the illness. This has only been discovered afterwards,” the host of the conference, Mathias Jucker said as reported by dpa. When Deter’s husband brought her to see Dr. Alzheimer at Frankfurt’s “Institute for Lunatics and Epileptics”, she said she had “lost herself” and no longer remembered many details of her life. In thirty one handwritten pages, Alzheimer recorded his observations of her. His question “What is your name?” elicited the response “Auguste.” “What is your surname?” – “Auguste.” – “What is your husband’s name?” “Auguste.” In an autopsy after her death in 1906, he discovered massive protein deposits and neuronal degeneration in her brain. Visitors to the conference will be able to view the original histological sections through Alzheimer’s own microscope. Links:
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