Alzheimer‘s Disease

Auguste Deter

Exerpt from Auguste Deter‘s patient file

The Patient Auguste Deter

The term "Alzheimer's disease" originates from the case of 51-year-old Auguste Deter, who was admitted to the “Municipal Asylum for the Insane and Epileptic” in Frankfurt am Main on November 25, 1901. Alois Alzheimer wrote the admission report by hand and meticulously recorded his observations in the patient file, including the following conversation:

26. XI. Sitting in bed with a puzzled expression on her face. What is your name? Auguste Family name? Auguste. What is your husband's name?I think Auguste. Your husband? Oh, my husband... (Obviously doesn't understand the question) Are you married? To Auguste. Mrs. D.? Yes, to Auguste D.

Even after moving to Munich, Alois Alzheimer continued to follow the patient's progress. When she passed away in 1906, he had her brain sent to Munich for further examination. His investigations revealed a loss of brain substance and "particular changes in cortical cell clusters".

Alois Alzheimer presented his findings at the “37th Assembly of South-Western German Psychiatrists” in Tübingen in November 1906 and published them the following year. Emil Kraepelin later suggested naming the disease "Alzheimer’s Disease".

Cause and Symptoms of Alzheimer‘s Disease

Alois Alzheimer had already noticed protein deposits in the brain of the deceased Auguste Deter that were associated with the disease. Decades after this description, scientists discovered that these deposits are formed from two different proteins: Beta amyloids clump together to form amyloid plaques, and tau proteins form neurofibrils. These protein deposits lead, among other things, to problems in the transmission of signals between nerve cells, which ultimately die.

Typical symptoms of Alzheimer's disease can include memory, orientation and speech disorders, problems with thinking and judgment and even changes in personality. These impairments vary in severity and increase as the disease progresses.^1,2

Alzheimer's disease is one of the greatest global challenges today. The World Health Organization estimates that 139 million people will be affected by dementia by 2050, with 60-70 percent of these cases being attributable to Alzheimer's disease.³

To date, there is no cure for Alzheimer's disease. Scientists and companies such as Lilly have been researching for decades to develop appropriate drugs.

2024 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures. Alzheimers Dement 2024;20:3708-3821
DGN e. V. & DGPPN e. V. (Hrsg.) S3-Leitlinie Demenzen, Version 4.0, 8.11.2023, verfügbar unter: https://register.awmf.org/de/leitlinien/detail/038-013, Accessed on 21.01.2025
Global status report on the public health response to dementia. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2021. https://www.who.int/publications
/i/item/9789240033245. Published September 1, 2021. Accessed September 22, 2021.