The end of memory : a natural history of aging and Alzheimer's / Jay Ingram.

"It is a wicked disease that robs its victims of their memories, their ability to think clearly, and ultimately their lives. For centuries, those afflicted by Alzheimer's disease have suffered its debilitating effects while family members sit by, watching their loved ones disappear a little more each day until the person they used to know is gone forever. The disease was first described by German psychologist and neurologist Alois Alzheimer in 1906. One hundred years and a great deal of scientific effort later, much more is known about Alzheimer's, but it still affects millions around the world, and there is no cure in sight. In The End of Memory, award-winning science author Jay Ingram writes a biography of this disease that attacks the brains of patients. He charts the history of the disease from before it was noted by Alois Alzheimer through to the twenty-first century, explains the fascinating science of plaques and tangles, recounts the efforts to understand and combat the disease, and introduces us to the passionate researchers who are working to find a cure. An illuminating biography of "the plague of the twenty-first century" and scientists' efforts to understand and, they hope, prevent it, The End of Memory is a book for those who want to find out the true story behind an affliction that courses through families and wreaks havoc on the lives of millions"-- Provided by publisher.

"For centuries, those afflicted by Alzheimer's disease have suffered its debilitating effects, with family members watching their loved ones disappear a little more each day until the person they used to know is gone forever. It was in 1901 that German psychologist and neurologist Alois Alzheimer began working with Auguste Deter, a 51-year-old woman suffering from dementia. When several years later upon her death he examined her brain under the microscope, he remarked on two unusual features: dark blobs he called "plaques" and the twisted remnants of neurons, or "tangles." In the century since the disease was first described, there has been a great deal of scientific inquiry into its causes, but little progress in its treatment. Jay Ingram believes we are on the threshold of important new leaps in understanding, and in The End of Memory he explains the fascinating science of plaques and tangles, recounts the imperfect history of our efforts to understand and combat the disease, and introduces us to the passionate researchers who are now working to find a cure. In the spirit of Siddhartha Mukherjee's The Emperor of All Maladies, this is a book for those who want to find out the true story behind an affliction that courses through families and wreaks havoc on the lives of millions"-- Provided by publisher.

New York : Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press, [2015]

289 pages ; 25 cm

First U.S. edition.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 263-276) and index.

Introduction -- 1. Facing, or Fearing, Aging -- 2. "I have, so to say, lost myself" -- 3. Has Alzheimer's Always Been with Us? -- 4. The Case of Jonathan Swift -- 5. The Biology of Aging -- 6. A Natural Life -- 7. The Aging Brain -- 8. Plaques and Tangles -- 9. "I only retire at night" -- 10. A Deadly Progression -- 11. The Brain Fights Back -- 12. Is the Epidemic Slowing? -- 13. Am I going to get it? And if so, when? -- 14. Treatment: Candidates But No Champions -- 15. Men, Women and Alzheimer's -- 16. Was It Really the Aluminum? -- 17. The Many Faces of Dementia -- 18. Where You Live, What You Eat -- 19. What's Next?