This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Dogface (talk | contribs) at 15:22, 18 August 2004. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 15:22, 18 August 2004 by Dogface (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Suggestion: I'd like to see more discussion of the human side of Alzheimer's in this entry. It's good from a clinical point of view, but I'd be interested in reading descriptions and/or anecdotes of what Alzheimer's patients are like in person, and how the disease feels to them and their relatives. Anyone up for this? --Shibboleth 21:26, 8 Jun 2004 (UTC)
Research into the disease may, I'm afraid, be limited due to the fact that the disease impacts people primarily after their prime income generating/tax paying days are over. -- Coasting
- False. Impact has been well-documented to extend well beyond the individual with the ailment for the majority of cases (Prigerson, H. G. (2003) N. Engl. J. Med. 349, 1891-1892). Likewise, unlike many other age-associated disorders, there are no effective treatments that simply cost a lot of money. Rich people are as likely as poor people to get the disease, and the treatments available to rich people are no better than those available to poor people.Dogface 15:22, 18 Aug 2004 (UTC)
On the other hand, they're the most politically active age group -- they've more leisure time. There's a reason politicians in the US and elsewhere don't dare touch pensions, for example.
The article incorrectly stated that Alzheimer first identified the symptoms of the disease and therefore (citing the authoritative reference from the historian of the institute where they worked) I took the liberty of making this correction: The symptoms of the disease as a distinct nosologic entity were first identified by Emil Kraepelin, and the characteristic neuropathology was first observed by Alois Alzheimer in 1906. In this sense, the disease was co-discovered by Kraepelin and Alzheimer, who worked in Kraepelin's laboratory. Because of the overwhelming importance Kraepelin attached to finding the neuropathological basis of psychiatric disorders, Kraepelin made the generous decision that the disease would bear the name of Alzheimer (J. Psychiat. Res, 1997, Vol 31, No. 6, pp. 635-643).
What's a "nosologic entity"? Is there a simpler alternative term that would do the job? --Robert Merkel