EMIL KRAEPELIN GIVES A NAME TO ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE

Today, The Grandma has been reading about Emil Kraepelin, the German psychiatrist who gave a name to Alzheimer's disease in his book Clinical Psychiatry on a day like today in 1910.

Emil Wilhelm Georg Magnus Kraepelin (15 February 1856-7 October 1926) was a German psychiatrist. H. J. Eysenck's Encyclopedia of Psychology identifies him as the founder of modern scientific psychiatry, psychopharmacology and psychiatric genetics.

Kraepelin believed the chief origin of psychiatric disease to be biological and genetic malfunction. His theories dominated psychiatry at the start of the 20th century and, despite the later psychodynamic influence of Sigmund Freud and his disciples, enjoyed a revival at century's end. While he proclaimed his own high clinical standards of gathering information by means of expert analysis of individual cases, he also drew on reported observations of officials not trained in psychiatry.

His textbooks do not contain detailed case histories of individuals but mosaic-like compilations of typical statements and behaviors from patients with a specific diagnosis. He has been described as a scientific manager and a political operator, who developed a large-scale, clinically oriented, epidemiological research programme. He developed racist psychiatric theories.

Kraepelin postulated that there is a specific brain or other biological pathology underlying each of the major psychiatric disorders. As a colleague of Alois Alzheimer, he was a co-discoverer of Alzheimer's disease, and his laboratory discovered its pathological basis. 

Kraepelin was confident that it would someday be possible to identify the pathological basis of each of the major psychiatric disorders.

More information: Estonian Academy Publishers

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60-70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems with language, disorientation (including easily getting lost), mood swings, loss of motivation, self-neglect, and behavioral issues. As a person's condition declines, they often withdraw from family and society. Gradually, bodily functions are lost, ultimately leading to death. Although the speed of progression can vary, the average life expectancy following diagnosis is three to twelve years.

The causes of Alzheimer's disease remain poorly understood. There are many environmental and genetic risk factors associated with its development. The strongest genetic risk factor is from an allele of apolipoprotein E. Other risk factors include a history of head injury, clinical depression, and high blood pressure. The progression of the disease is largely characterised by the accumulation of malformed protein deposits in the cerebral cortex, called amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. These misfolded protein aggregates interfere with normal cell function, and over time lead to irreversible degeneration of neurons and loss of synaptic connections in the brain. A probable diagnosis is based on the history of the illness and cognitive testing, with medical imaging and blood tests to rule out other possible causes. Initial symptoms are often mistaken for normal brain aging. Examination of brain tissue is needed for a definite diagnosis, but this can only take place after death.

No treatments can stop or reverse its progression, though some may temporarily improve symptoms. A healthy diet, physical activity, and social engagement are generally beneficial in aging, and may help in reducing the risk of cognitive decline and Alzheimer's. Affected people become increasingly reliant on others for assistance, often placing a burden on caregivers. The pressures can include social, psychological, physical, and economic elements. Exercise programs may be beneficial with respect to activities of daily living and can potentially improve outcomes. Behavioral problems or psychosis due to dementia are sometimes treated with antipsychotics, but this has an increased risk of early death.

As of 2020, there were approximately 50 million people worldwide with Alzheimer's disease. It most often begins in people over 65 years of age, although up to 10% of cases are early-onset impacting those in their 30s to mid-60s. It affects about 6% of people 65 years and older, and women more often than men.  

The disease is named after German psychiatrist and pathologist Alois Alzheimer, who first described it in 1906. 

More information: Alzheimer's Association

Caring for an Alzheimer's patient is a situation
that can utterly consume the lives and well-being 
of the people giving care, 
just as the disorder consumes its victims.

Leeza Gibbons