Nov 30
100 Years Ago This Month
I can’t let November end without mention of a grim anniversary.
It was April, 1901 when a woman named Auguste Deter was brought by her husband to a German psychiatric hospital presenting strange symptoms which included memory loss, unusual mood changes ranging from paranoia to hostility, and the loss of ability to use words in normal speech. Her doctor hadn’t seen anything quite like it, and treated her until her death at age 55 five years later, in November of 1906, when he made a startling discovery about structural deterioration in her brain and first reported his findings the global medical community.
The doctor was Alois Alzheimer. The condition he described would carry his name.
Millions have been affected by Alzheimer’s Disease in one way or another since the doctor’s discovery. My last grandparent died from it. And no where is there a more poignant story of dealing with a family member who suffers from it than Mary Louise’s blog, Watching My Sister…Disappear.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the next Alzheimer’s-related anniversary we celebrate is anniversary of a cure’s discovery? We can all hope.
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December 2nd, 2006 at 5:15 pm
Indeed it would.
December 2nd, 2006 at 5:15 pm
Yes, let’s pray for a cure. I lost a grandparent to that horrid disease as well. It is heartbreaking.
December 3rd, 2006 at 5:51 pm
My mother died three years ago this week from it’s crulty. STEM CELL RESEARCH PEOPLE!