IN 1906, German neuropathologist and psychiatrist
Alois Alzheimer gave a lecture in which he
described the case of Auguste Deter, a 51-year-old
woman whose symptoms included memory loss,
disorientation and hallucinations. Ms Deter died
at the age of 55. At post-mortem cerebral atrophy
was noted and neurofibrillary tangles and neuritic
plaques were identified in her brain. The condition
was later known as Alzheimer’s disease, which is
the most common cause of dementia (Alzheimer’s
Disease International (ADI) 2014).