High School

A slow-growing, infectious, degenerative brain disease is named for _____________.

Answer :

Final answer:

Alzheimer's disease was named after German psychiatrist Alois Alzheimer, who discovered the presence of abnormal clumps and tangled brain fibers in a patient's brain. The disease is characterized by the formation of amyloid plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, and the loss of neurons in the hippocampus.

Explanation:

Alzheimer's disease was named for Alois Alzheimer, a German psychiatrist who published a report in 1911 about a woman who showed severe dementia symptoms. Along with his colleagues, he examined the woman's brain following her death and reported the presence of abnormal clumps, which are now called amyloid plaques, along with tangled brain fibers called neurofibrillary tangles.

Amyloid plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, and an overall shrinking of brain volume are commonly seen in the brains of Alzheimer's patients. Loss of neurons in the hippocampus is especially severe in advanced Alzheimer's patients.

Many research groups are examining the causes of these hallmarks of the disease.