Alzheimer's disease

American

[ahlts-hahy-merz, alts-, awlts-] / ˈɑlts haɪ mərz, ˈælts-, ˈɔlts- /

Or Alzheimer disease

noun

Pathology.

a common form of dementia, believed to be caused by changes in the brain, usually beginning in late middle age, characterized by memory lapses, confusion, emotional instability, and progressive loss of mental ability.

Alzheimer's disease British

/ ˈæltsˌhaɪməz /

noun

Often shortened to: Alzheimer's. a disorder of the brain resulting in a progressive decline in intellectual and physical abilities and eventual dementia

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Alzheimer's disease Scientific

/ äls′hī-mərz /

A progressive, degenerative disease of the brain, commonly affecting the elderly, and associated with the development of amyloid plaques in the cerebral cortex. It is characterized by confusion, disorientation, memory failure, speech disturbances, and eventual dementia. The cause is unknown. Alzheimer's disease is named for its identifier, German psychiatrist Alois Alzheimer (1864–1915).

Alzheimer's disease Cultural

A disease in which mental capacity decreases because of the breakdown of brain cells.

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Alzheimer's disease is a major cause of loss of intellectual function in middle-aged and elderly people.

Etymology

Origin of Alzheimer's disease

Named after Alois Alzheimer (1864–1915), German neurologist, who described it in 1907

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

That said, my mother is in the middle stages of Alzheimer’s disease, and spending more time with her while helping my father and grandmother would be beneficial for all of them.

From MarketWatch

Small shifts in how blood moves through the brain and how brain cells receive oxygen may be closely connected to the risk of Alzheimer's disease.

From Science Daily

"Amyloid and tau are often considered the primary players in Alzheimer's disease, but blood flow and oxygen delivery are also critical," said Amaryllis A. Tsiknia, lead author of the study and USC PhD candidate.

From Science Daily

"They appear to align with what we see on MRI and PET scans that are commonly used to study Alzheimer's disease, providing important information about how vascular health and standard brain measures of Alzheimer's disease risk may be related."

From Science Daily

This finding supports the view that declining blood vessel health in the brain is part of the broader Alzheimer's disease continuum.

From Science Daily

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023