History

AD is named after a German physician, Dr. Alois Alzheimer, who in 1906
found plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain of a mentally disturbed
woman. Today, these plaques and tangles in the brain are considered
hallmarks of AD.
There is also evidence that ancient Greeks and Romans recognized the
disease, as there are writings dating from their time that appear to describe
symptoms of AD. In the sixteenth century, playwright and poet William
Shakespeare wrote that old age is a “second childishness and mere oblivion.”
In the past, terms such as “senility” and “hardening of the arteries”
were commonly used to describe dementia. Until recently, AD was considered
an inevitable consequence of aging. Beginning in the last quarter of
the twentieth century, researchers discovered more about AD.