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Alzheimer's or alzheimer-perusini's disease?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2020

G.L. Conte
Affiliation:
D.H. Clinical Psychiatry, A. Gemelli Hospital, Rome, Italy
M. Pomponi
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology, Sacred Heart Catholic University, A. Gemelli Hospital, Rome, Italy

Abstract

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For persons who suffer from Alzheimer's disease little changed since 1906, when Alois Alzheimer (Kraepelin's assistant) communicated to Psychiatric Convention of Tubinga the “Auguste D case”. Auguste had been affected by an unknown type of dementia. After case presentation, no discussion followed. One year later was published an article of only two pages, describing extreme reduction of brain dimensions, neurons loss, presence of fibrils and plaques in the cortex, without any picture or hypothesis or comment. Should be remembered some historical notes in recognition of the forgotten Perusini's contribution. Exactly, a young psychiatrist of Roman school, Gaetano Perusini, went to Alzheimer's, and carried on the research. Perusini studied four clinical cases presented in 54 pages and 79 figures collected in four tables (1908 December). Perusini formulated hypothesis on the nature and origin of plaques; primarily discussed an aspect of the disease still relevant: the neuronal or vascular origin. Perusini noticed the action of a “cement” that glues fibrils (the beta-Amyloid). His work was published only in 1910 in a journal whose editors were Nissl and Alzheimer. In the same year, Kraepelin published a new edition of his treatise Psichiatrie, where he reported a new type of dementia discovered by Alzheimer. Perusini was not mentioned, although Kraepelin told about a group of clinical cases, while Alzheimer, at that particular time, had presented only one case.

Type
Poster Session 2: Organic Mental Disorders and Memory and Cognitive Dysfunctions
Copyright
Copyright © European Psychiatric Association 2007
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