Abstract

This book details how "Alzheimer Disease" went from being an obscure neurologic diagnosis to a household word. The words of those responsible for this revolution are the heart of this book. Dr. Robert Katzman and Dr. Katherine Bick, leaders in Alzheimer research and policy making, interview the people responsible for this awakening of public consciousness about Alzheimer
Disease from 1960 to 1980. They speak with the scientists, public health officials, government regulators, and concerned relatives and activists responsible for taking this neurodegenerative disease out of the "back wards" through the halls of Congress, and on to the front page. The reader will learn how the explosive increase in research funding and public awareness came about, how physicians and psychiatrists established diagnostic criteria, how drugs were developed that offer hope for sufferers, and how the Alzheimer's Association was born.
* Written in the words of those responsible for the widespread recognition of this neurodegenerative disease
* The authors are recognised as leaders in Alzheimer research and policy making
"The authors are imminently qualified to write on this subject...their first-hand knowledge of the period in question and of the individuals they interview enriches the book's content considerably."
--Norman R. Relkin, MD, PhD in NEUROLOGY (April 2001)
"Katzman and Bick demonstrate considerable interviewing skills, and their respondents provide remarkably generous and candid material. This book will therefore fascinate students of the history of science, regardless of their interest in Alzheimer's disease. For those who have such interest, it is a rare treat."
--John C.S. Breitner, MD, MPH, ANNALS OF NEUROLOGY (March 2001)