Alzheimer’s disease was first described in 1906. In the century since then, scientists have made remarkable strides in understanding how the disease affects the brain and are learning how to make life better for patients and their families. Below are some key milestones.
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Discovery
1906: German physician Alois Alzheimer describes the haunting case of Auguste D., a patient with profound memory loss and other psychological changes. An autopsy of her brain showed dramatic shrinkage and abnormal deposits in and around nerve cells.
1910: Emil Kraepelin, a German psychiatrist who worked with Dr. Alzheimer, first names “Alzheimer’s disease” in his book “Psychiatrie.”
1968: Researchers develop the first validated measurement scale for assessing cognitive and functional decline in older adults.
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Research
1974: An act of Congress establishes the National Institute on Aging (NIA), the primary federal agency supporting Alzheimer’s research.
1976: Neurologist Robert Katzman identifies Alzheimer’s as the most common cause of dementia and a major public health challenge.
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Awareness
1980: The Alzheimer’s Association was founded and has since become the largest private, non-profit source of funding for Alzheimer’s research.
1984: Researchers George Glenner and Caine Wong identify “a novel cerebrovascular amyloid protein” known as beta-amyloid — the chief component of Alzheimer’s brain plaques and a prime suspect in triggering nerve cell damage.
1984: The NIA begins funding a network of Alzheimer’s Disease Centers at flagship medical institutions, including Emory University.
1986: Researchers discover that tau protein is a key component of tangles — the second pathological hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease and another prime suspect in nerve cell degeneration.
1987: The Alzheimer’s Association assists the NIA and Warner-Lambert Pharmaceutical Co. (now Pfizer) in launching clinical trials of tacrine, the first drug specifically targeting symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.
1987: Researchers identify the first gene associated with rare, inherited forms of Alzheimer’s disease.
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Treatments
1991: The NIA established the Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study, a nationwide medical network to facilitate clinical research and conduct federally funded clinical trials.
1993: 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.
1993: The Food and Drug Administration approves tacrine (Cognex) as the first drug specifically targeting Alzheimer’s memory and thinking symptoms. Four more drugs are approved over the next 10 years.
1995: Researchers announce the first transgenic mouse model that developed Alzheimer’s-like brain pathology after it was inserted with one of the human genes linked to a rare form of Alzheimer’s.
1999: Reports are published showing that injecting transgenic “Alzheimer’s” mice with beta-amyloid prevents them from developing plaques and other Alzheimer’s-like brain changes.
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Hope
2003: The Alzheimer’s Association partners with the NIA to launch the National Alzheimer’s Disease Genetics Study, an initiative to collect blood samples from families with members who developed Alzheimer’s disease to identify additional Alzheimer’s risk genes.
2004: Emory becomes one of 50 sites nationwide to participate in the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuro-imaging Initiative study. The goal is to establish standards for obtaining and interpreting brain images to identify high-risk individuals, provide early detection, and monitor treatment effects.
2008: Emory neurologist James J. Lah develops a memory screening test to detect memory problems.
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National agenda
2010: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta releases 2007 data showing that Alzheimer’s disease is now the sixth-leading cause of death.
2011: President Barack Obama signs the National Alzheimer’s Project Act into law, establishing a framework for a national strategic plan to address the Alzheimer’s crisis and coordinate research efforts.
2011: The NIA issues updated criteria and guidelines for diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease and proposes a research agenda to define a new preclinical stage.
Source: Alzheimer’s Association and Emory University
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