Alzheimer's Disease
ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE
[Alzheimer's disease was first described by the German physician Alois Alzheimer in 1906. The disease is associated with a progressive decline in general cognitive function and a specific impairment in the ability to form new memories (anterograde amnesia). Approximately 4 million individuals in the United States suffer from Alzheimer's disease at an estimated cost for treatment and care that exceeds $100 billion per year. Two entries on Alzheimer's disease follow.B ehavioralA spectsdescribes the cognitive defects associated with the disease and the ways in which it is diagnosed;H umanD isease and theG eneticallyE ngineeredA nimalM odelsdescribes recent progress in elucidating the genes and proteins implicated in the disease, the development of an animal model for the disease, and some exciting alternative treatment possibilities. For a discussion of treatments for Alzheimer's disease see PHARMACOLOGICAL TREATMENTS OF MEMORY DEFECTS.]
