The disease Alzheimer owes it's name to the first psychiatrist who, in 1906 described it as a rare form of senile dementia, that could affect people even younger than 65 years of age. Dr. Alois Alzheimer. If this general opinion had one day changed, it was due to Dr. Robert Katzman when he published an editorial in 1976: 'The prevalence and malignancy of Alzheimer's disease - a major killer'. This article convinced the medical profession that, if one day a way could be found to control Alzheimer, 50% of the older people can be free of contracting this disease.
Robert Katzman had passed away after a long illness 2008. He was the man who had redefined Alzheimer as a problem of public health and is the most progressive way of dementia in old age. He was born in 1925 in Denver, and was founder and director of the Investigation of Alzheimer Centre.
His interest for this painful and degrading disease was initiated when he saw his mother-in-law, Elsie Bernstein, who had suffered it since the age of 64 and she died in 1977. He took up then an unwavering determination to study this disease. He almost started a social war when many medical experts and people in general continued defining Alzheimer as pre-senile illness and full stop.
Leading such a difficult and insufficiently supported campaign, he launched to the world the necessity of understanding the phenomenon of this disease in another way, which is to foster a social state of awareness in that senility is not the consequence of getting old, but that it's a disease, which needs to be studied and considered as any other disease, which means improvement, prevention, delay or even solutions might be found one day to combat it.
By then there's another Bob working also in this and in the same hospital, Dr. Robert Terry, a great neuro-pathologist dedicated to the study of Alzheimer, having in 1964 discovered the nature of the plagues and clews of neuro-fibrillates. The two Bob's, Katzman and Terry, united their study and investigation in the project.
Although retired as professor in 1995, Katzman continued his interests and followed closely any development anywhere in the world. It's recognition came in 1998.
Remembering a friend of mine who died of Alzheimer before he completed 60 years of age.
Current Mood: 
Hopeful
Hopeful 
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