Skip to main content

Alzheimer’s Then and Now

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Alzheimer’s Turning Point
  • 1077 Accesses

Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease has probably existed since mammals roamed the earth although it was not recognized as a disease until 1907. In that year, Alois Alzheimer, a German neuropathologist, published his landmark paper describing a mentally ill patient whose brain after death showed strange deposits later described as senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. These microbodies are now known to be the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease although they are also found in other dementing disorders such as vascular dementia and dementia pugilistica, also known as “punch-drunk syndrome,” so-called because it was first discovered in boxers who had sustained repeated blows to the head.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 79.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 99.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Tuke JB. On the morbid histology of the brain and spinal cord as observed in the insane. Br For Med Chir Rev. 1873;51:450–460.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Alzheimer A. Uber eine eigenartige Erkrankung der Hirnrinde. Allgemeine Zeitschrift für Psychiatrie und phychish-gerichtliche Medizin, (Berlin). 1907;64:146–148.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Ravens JR. Vascular changes in the human senile brain. In: Cervos-Navarro J, editor. Pathology of Cerebrospinal Microcirculation. New York: Raven Press, 1978: pp. 487–501.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Hassler O. Arterial deformities in senile brains. Acta Neuropathol. 1967;8:219–29.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Bell MA, Ball MJ. Morphometric comparison of hippocampal microvasculature in ageing and demented people: diameters and densities. Acta Neuropathol. 1981;53(4):299–318.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Fischer VW, Siddigi A, Yusufaly Y. Altered angioarchitecture in selected areas of brains with Alzheimer’s disease. Acta Neuropathol. 1990;79:672–9.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Scheibel AB, Duong TH, Jacobs R. Alzheimer’s disease as a capillary dementia. Ann Med. 1989;21(2)

    Google Scholar 

  8. de la Torre JC, Mussivand T. Can disturbed brain microcirculation cause Alzheimer’ disease? Neurol Res. 1993;15:146–53.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. de la Torre JC, Fortin T, Park GA, Butler KS, Kozlowski P, Pappas BA, de Socarraz H, Saunders JK, Richard MT. Chronic cerebrovascular insufficiency induces dementia-like deficits in aged rats. Brain Res. 1992;582(2):186–95.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Thomas T, Miners S, Love S. Post-mortem assessment of hypoperfusion of cerebral cortex in Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia. Brain. 2015;138(Pt 4):1059–69.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Miners JS, Palmer JC, Love S. Pathophysiology of Hypoperfusion of the Precuneus in Early Alzheimer’s Disease. Brain Pathol. 2015;Oct 9.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Nagata K, Kondoh Y, Atchison R, Sato M, Satoh Y, Watahiki Y, Hirata Y, Yokoyama E. Vascular and metabolic reserve in Alzheimer’s disease. Neurobiol Aging. 2000 Mar–Apr;21(2):301–7.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Xekardaki A, Rodriguez C, Montandon ML, Toma S, Tombeur E, Herrmann FR, Zekry D, Lovblad KO, Barkhof 615 F, Giannakopoulos P, Haller S. Arterial spin labeling may contribute to the prediction of cognitive deterioration in healthy elderly individuals. Radiology 2–14;274, 490–9.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Ruitenberg A, den Heiker T, Bakker SL. Cerebral hypoperfusion and clinical onset of dementia: the Rotterdam study. Ann Neurol. 2005;57:789–794

    Google Scholar 

  15. de la Torre JC. Impaired brain microcirculation may trigger Alzheimer’s disease. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 1994;18(3):397–401.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. de la Torre JC. Hemodynamic consequences of deformed microvessels in the brain in Alzheimer’s disease. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1997;826:75–91.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. de la Torre JC. Is Alzheimer’s disease a neurodegenerative or a vascular disorder? Data, dogma, and dialectics. Lancet Neurol. 2004;3(3):184–90.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Huang C, Wahlund LO, Svensson L, Winblad B, Julin P. Cingulate cortex hypoperfusion predicts Alzheimer’s disease in mild cognitive impairment. BMC Neurol. 2002;2:9.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  19. Lee SJ, Ritchie CS, Yaffe K, Stijacic CI, Barnes DE. A clinical index to predict progression from mild cognitive impairment to dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease. PLoS ONE. 2014;9(12):e113535.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  20. Benedictus MR, van Harten AC, Leeuwis AE, Koene T, Scheltens P, Barkhof F, Prins ND, van der Flier WM. White matter hyperintensities relate to clinical progression in subjective cognitive decline. Stroke. 2015;46(9):2661–4.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Laosiripisan J, Tarumi T, Gonzales MM, Haley AP, Tanaka H. Association between cardiovagal baroreflex sensitivity and baseline cerebral perfusion of the hippocampus. Clin Auton Res. 2015;25(4):213–8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Roher AE, Esh C, Kokjohn TA, Kalback W, Luehrs DC, Seward JD. Circle of willis atherosclerosis is a risk factor for sporadic Alzheimer’s disease. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2003;23:2055–62.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Dai W, Lopez OL, Carmichael OT, Becker J, Kuller LH, Gach HM. Mild cognitive impairment and alzheimer disease: patterns of altered cerebral blood flow at MR imaging. Radiology. 2009;250:856–66.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  24. Alsop DC, Detre JA, Grossman M. Assessment of cerebral blood flow in Alzheimer’s disease by spin-labeled magnetic resonance imaging. Ann Neurol. 2000;2000(47):93–100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jack C. de la Torre .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

de la Torre, J.C. (2016). Alzheimer’s Then and Now. In: Alzheimer’s Turning Point. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-34057-9_4

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-34057-9_4

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-34056-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-34057-9

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics