The End of Memory A Natural History of Aging and Alzheimer’s

For centuries, those afflicted by Alzheimer's disease have suffered its debilitating effects, with family members watching their loved ones disappear a little more each day until the person they used to know is gone forever. It was in 1901 that German psychologist and neurologist Alois Alzheimer began working with Auguste Deter, a 51-year-old woman suffering from dementia. When several years later upon her death he examined her brain under the microscope, he remarked on two unusual features: dark blobs he called "plaques" and the twisted remnants of neurons, or "tangles." In the century since the disease was first described, there has been a great deal of scientific inquiry into its causes, but little progress in its treatment. Jay Ingram believes we are on the threshold of important new leaps in understanding, and inThe End of Memory he explains the fascinating science of plaques and tangles, recounts the imperfect history of our efforts to understand and combat the disease, and introduces us to the passionate researchers who are now working to find a cure. In the spirit of Siddhartha Mukherjee's The Emperor of All Maladies, this is a book for those who want to find out the true story behind an affliction that courses through families and wreaks havoc on the lives of millions.