Alzheimer Disease: The Changing View

Robert Katzman, M.D., a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, is the recipient of numerous scientific awards. He has enjoyed a long career as a physician, neuroscientist, and policy maker, serving on the faculty at Albert Einstein University in New York and currently at the University of California, San Diego. His research has centered on the epidemiology of aging and Alzheimer disease, and his seminal editorial in 1976 sparked the NIH to hold the first conference on the subject. Dr. Katzman has been a catalyst in the formation of the Alzheimer's Association. Katherine Bick, Ph.D., worked in academia for 20 years before joining the National Institutes of Health in 1976. At NIH she became a major figure in U.S. research and health care funding policy, serving as deputy director of the NINDS and later deputy director of NIH for extramural research. She has an avid interest in the history of Alzheimer disease and is one of the editors of the field's foremost text on the subject.

Preface.Setting the Stage.The Pioneers.The Need for Care.Understanding the Biology of AD.The Cholinergic Story: Hope for the Patient and Family.Improving the Accuracy of Diagnosis.The Impact of AD and Society's Response.The Next Act.