1907 Alois Alzheimer discovers the disease
German psychiatrist Alois Alzheimer publishes his studies of a 51-year-old patient, Auguste Deter, who gradually loses her memory and ability to carry out domestic work. Dr. Alzheimer names the disease after himself.
1984 Beta-amyloid is linked with Alzheimer’s
Pathologist George Glenner discovers that patients’ brains include ‘plaque’, deposits of the prote in beta-amyloid. This began the amyloid hypothesis, according to which plaque causes Alzheimer’s and its cognitive decline.
2006 Erroneous results boost suspicion
Brain researcher Sylvain Lesné shows that young mice develop Alzheimer’s when he injects beta-amyloid into their brains. This supports the amyloid hypothesis. But years later, it turns out that documentation was manipulated.
2019 Vaccine questions the amyloid hypothesis
Brain researcher Delphine Boche develops a vaccine that removes plaque from the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. However, it made no difference to the decline of patients, calling the role
