Alzheimer’s disease is the most common and severe degenerative disease of the brain, characterized by a progressive decline in cognitive functions (in particular, memory and language) associated with aging.
It owes its name to Alois Alzheimer, the physician who first described it in 1907, identifying the neuropathological elements that, to this day, are distinctive for the condition, although lacking a satisfactory etiopathogenetic explanation: senile plaques and neurofibrillary clusters.
Until the mid-1900s, Alzheimer’s disease was considered a rare form of dementia.
At present, its societal impact is extremely significant, mainly due to longer life expectancy and perhaps, in part, as a result of changing lifestyle and environmental factors, but these remain to be specified.
Alzheimer’s disease can occur in any period of adult life, but its incidence increases with advancing age: most patients are older than 60, while few are younger than 50. In Italy, it affects about 5 percent of the population over 65 years old, predominantly women (also related to the higher survival rate of the female population).
