Our online medical glossary of medical terms and definitions includes definitions for terms related to treatment, and general medicine
DISEASE, ALZHEIMER'S
A progressive degenerativemalady of the brain that leads to dementia. On a cellular level, Alzheimer's is characterised by unusual helical protein filaments in nervecells (neurons) of the brain. These odd twisted filaments are called neurofibrillary tangles. On a functional level, there is degeneration of the cortical regions, especially the frontal and temporal lobes, of the brain. The U.S. President Ronald Reagan is said to have Alzheimer's malady. Named after the German neurologist Alois Alzheimer (1864-1915).