Concepts of Alzheimer Disease: Biological, Clinical, and Cultural Perspectives

by Peter J. Whitehouse MD PhD (Editor), Konrad Maurer MD PhD (Editor), Jesse F. Ballenger PhD (Editor)

Overview

As the essays in this volume show, conceptualizing dementia has always been a complex process. With contributions from noted professionals in psychiatry, neurology, molecular biology, sociology, history, ethics, and health policy, Concepts of Alzheimer Disease looks at the ways in which Alzheimer disease has been defined in various historical and cultural contexts.

The book covers every major development in the field, from the first case described by Alois Alzheimer in 1907 through groundbreaking work on the genetics of the disease. Essays examine not only the prominent role that biomedical and clinical researchers have played in defining Alzheimer disease, but also the ways in which the perspectives of patients, their caregivers, and the broader public have shaped concepts.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801877155
Publisher:	Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date:	05/27/2003
Series:	Gerontology
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	344
File size:	4 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Peter J. Whitehouse, M.D., Ph.D., is a professor of neurology, psychiatry, neuroscience, psychology, nursing, organizational behavior, and biomedical ethics at the Fairhill Center for Aging, Case Western Reserve University, and a founding director of the Alzheimer Center at the University Hospitals of Cleveland. Konrad Maurer, M.D., Ph.D., is a professor in and head of the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, and director of the Clinic for Psychiatry, at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University. Jesse F. Ballenger, Ph.D., is a post-doctoral fellow at the Institute of the History of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University.

Peter J. Whitehouse, MD, PhD, is a professor of neurology at Case Western Reserve University and the cofounder of the Intergenerational Schools. Together, they are the coauthors of The Myth of Alzheimer's: What You Aren't Being Told about Today's Most Dreaded Diagnosis.
Jesse F. Ballenger is an assistant professor in the Science, Technology, and Society Program at Pennsylvania State University and coeditor of Concepts of Alzheimer Disease: Biological, Clinical, and Cultural Perspectives (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000).

Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments
List of Contributors
Part I: The Cases of Auguste D. And Johann F.
Chapter 1. Auguste D.: The History of Alois Alzheimer's First Case
Chapter 2. Johann F.: The Historical Relevance of the Case for the Concept of Alzheimer Disease
Part II: From Alzheimer to the Present
Chapter 3. Neurofibrillary Changes: The Hallmark of Alzheimer Disease
Chapter 4. Contributions of German Neuroscience to the Concept of Alzheimer Disease
Chapter 5. Beyond the Characteristic Plaques and Tangles: Mid-Twentieth-Century U.S. Psychiatry and the Fight Against Senility
Chapter 6. The Rediscover of Alzheimer Disease During the 1960s and 1970s
Chapter 7. The History of the Genetics of Alzheimer Disease
Part III: Alzheimer Disease as a Social and Cultural Entity
Chapter 8. Alzheimer Disease: Epistemological Lessons From History?
Chapter 9. Aging, Culture, and the Framing of Alzheimer Disease
Chapter 10. Narrative Practice and the Inner World of the Alzheimer Disease Experience
Part IV: Politics, Policy, and the Perspectives of the Caregiver and Patient
Chapter 11. The Role of the Concept of Alzheimer Disease in the Development of the Alzheimer's Association in the United States
Chapter 12. The History of the Alzheimer's Association: Future Public Policy Implications
Chapter 13. The Concept of Alzheimer Disease in a Hypercognitive Society
Part V: Progress and Its Problems
Chapter 14. Alzheimer Disease and the New Biology
Chapter 15. The Genetics of Alzheimer Disease: Some Future Implications
Chapter 16. History and the Future of Alzheimer Disease
Index

What People are Saying About This

Constantine G. Lyketsos

This overview of the history and evolution of the concept of Alzheimer disease is a substantial contribution that will interest readers in gerontology, geriatrics, neurology, psychiatry, psychology, social science, and public policy. It is a good introductory book for people new to the field, as well as for clinicians and even for family members of those affected by Alzheimer disease.

— Constantine G. Lyketsos, M.D., The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

From the Publisher

This overview of the history and evolution of the concept of Alzheimer disease is a substantial contribution that will interest readers in gerontology, geriatrics, neurology, psychiatry, psychology, social science, and public policy. It is a good introductory book for people new to the field, as well as for clinicians and even for family members of those affected by Alzheimer disease.
—Constantine G. Lyketsos, M.D., The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Editorial Reviews

3 Stars from Doody

This is a multiauthored volume on the social and intellectual history of Alzheimer's disease. The purpose is to show the evolution of our thinking about Alzheimer's disease, from its first description to the present. The editors aim for three audiences -- biomedical researchers and clinicians interested in the social and intellectual history of Alzheimer's disease, social historians of disease and aging, and caregivers, policy advocates, and others concerned with Alzheimer's disease. The reproductions of the case notes, photographs, and clinical records of Alzheimer's patients, his family, and his houses are unique historical documents. This is a marvelous book about the intellectual and social history of Alzheimer's disease, giving insights about Alzheimer himself, his career, and how leadership in medicine begets fundamental new discoveries. The latter third of the book -- on current policy implications -- is not as good as the first two thirds. Those historically inclined will savor this book. This is one of the better intellectual and social histories in medicine that I have read.

David O. Staats

The first sentence of this excellent book sums up both its content and the reason one should read it: "It is ironic that the professional and popular discourse surrounding Alzheimer disease (AD), whose most dreadful feature is the obliteration of memory, proceed with little awareness of its past." And if Santayana's often-quoted statement about those who cannot remember the past is true, what does this mean for studies of dementia? This book attempts to answer the question and does so very successfully.

New England Journal of Medicine

Celebrates the life and legacy of Alois Alzheimer with 16 papers from a November 1997 symposium in his birth place, Marktbreti, Germany. Most of the contributors are Germany, but other European countries and the US are also represented. They discuss his discovery of the mental disease in 1907 and the subsequent development of thinking about it. The goal is to dispel some of the loss of collective memory about the history of the disease. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

Reviewer: David O. Staats, MD (University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center)
Description: This is a multiauthored volume on the social and intellectual history of Alzheimer's disease.
Purpose: The purpose is to show the evolution of our thinking about Alzheimer's disease, from its first description to the present.
Audience: The editors aim for three audiences — biomedical researchers and clinicians interested in the social and intellectual history of Alzheimer's disease, social historians of disease and aging, and caregivers, policy advocates, and others concerned with Alzheimer's disease.
Features: The reproductions of the case notes, photographs, and clinical records of Alzheimer's patients, his family, and his houses are unique historical documents.
Assessment: This is a marvelous book about the intellectual and social history of Alzheimer's disease, giving insights about Alzheimer himself, his career, and how leadership in medicine begets fundamental new discoveries. The latter third of the book — on current policy implications — is not as good as the first two thirds. Those historically inclined will savor this book. This is one of the better intellectual and social histories in medicine that I have read.

Doody's Review Service

The first sentence of this excellent book sums up both its content and the reason one should read it: 'it is ironic that the professional and popular discourse surrounding Alzheimer disease (AD), whose most dreadful feature is the obliteration of memory, proceeds with little awareness of its past.' And if Santayana's often-quoted statement about those who cannot remember the past is true, what does this mean for studies of dementia? This book attempts to answer the question and does so very successfully.
—A. M. Clarfield, M.D., New England Journal of Medicine

This book will be an inspiration of greatest interest to anyone engaged in biological or social research in AD.
—Clinical Gerontologist

This is an excellent book, both for the newcomer to the study of Alzheimer disease and to the seasoned reader and clinician.
—A. MacDonald, Aging and Mental Health

From the Publisher

This is an excellent book, both for the newcomer to the study of Alzheimer disease and to the seasoned reader and clinician.

Aging and Mental Health - A. MacDonald

This book will be an inspiration of greatest interest to anyone engaged in biological or social research in AD.

Clinical Gerontologist

The first sentence of this excellent book sums up both its content and the reason one should read it: 'it is ironic that the professional and popular discourse surrounding Alzheimer disease (AD), whose most dreadful feature is the obliteration of memory, proceeds with little awareness of its past.' And if Santayana's often-quoted statement about those who cannot remember the past is true, what does this mean for studies of dementia? This book attempts to answer the question and does so very successfully.

New England Journal of Medicine - A. M. Clarfield

White has written the go-to or standard account of the Haitian Revolution's impact on the United States. Even more important, she has done so in a way that opens up rather than closes off new avenues of exploration.

H-Net Reviews - Matthew Hale

This is an excellent book, both for the newcomer to the study of Alzheimer disease and to the seasoned reader and clinician.

— A. MacDonald

Aging and Mental Health

White has written the go-to or standard account of the Haitian Revolution's impact on the United States. Even more important, she has done so in a way that opens up rather than closes off new avenues of exploration.

— Matthew Hale

H-Net Reviews