Alzheimer disease—from discovery in adults to disease potential in children

August 08, 2025

Alzheimer disease—from discovery in adults to disease potential in children [1]

In 1888 Dr Alois Alzheimer was a clinical assistant at the Municipal Asylum for the Insane and Epileptics in Frankfurt. Under the tutelage of micro-anatomist Franz Nissel, he learned the difficult task of preparing microscopic specimens of brain tissue from his deceased psychiatric patients. In November 1901, 51-year-old Auguste Deter came to Dr Alzheimer’s attention. She presented with progressive memory loss, suicidal thoughts, paranoia, shouting spells, and fear that others might try to kill her. She could not speak and spent her last months in bed, curled up in a fetal position. She died in 1906.

By that time, Dr Alzheimer was working at the Royal Psychiatric Clinic at the University of Munich, where he supervised the famous Anatomical Laboratory. He asked his former colleagues in Frankfurt to send him Ms Deter’s brain. Studying his slides, he described a massive loss of neurons and the presence of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. He presented his findings at the 1906 meeting of German psychiatrists in Tubingen. His brief presentation was received in silence; there was no interest in the report. Dr Alzheimer continued his work in obscurity and died 9 years later, at age 51, of bacterial endocarditis.[1]

Today, some 60% to 70% of all cases of dementia are identified as Alzheimer disease, affecting some 30 million people around the globe.[2] Now questions are being asked about the possibility of a childhood version of Alzheimer disease.[3] Childhood dementias are a group of over 100 rare pediatric conditions that are clinically characterized by general neurocognitive decline.[4] Childhood Alzheimer disease isn’t a clinical diagnosis; it is a term that can refer to Niemann-Pick disease type C or to Sanfilippo syndrome (mucopolysaccharidosis type III.) In these conditions, the lysosome cells help process sugar and cholesterol—when lysosomes are not functioning, the nutrients build up inside cells. In contrast, in Alzheimer disease there is too much beta-amyloid in the brain—the protein clumps together between cells.

The symptoms of childhood Alzheimer disease tend to show when a child is between 4 and 10 years old and get worse with time. The symptoms may include slurred speech or loss of ability to speak, loss of motor skills, hyperactivity, and behavioral concerns. The cause of this condition is genetic; both parents need to be carriers of the gene. Childhood Alzheimer disease may take years to diagnose, and children may be incorrectly diagnosed with learning disabilities or autism.

Currently there is no cure for either type of childhood Alzheimer disease. Most children with either type die before they are 20 years old. In general, childhood dementias are a severe and wide-ranging group of conditions with a devastating impact and a high level of unmet need. Most health professionals have limited experience with these conditions. The impact of this is profound for patients and their families.[4]

—George Szasz, CM, MD

References

1. Wikipedia. Alois Alzheimer. Last edited 5 June 2025. Accessed 21 July 2025. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alois_Alzheimer [2].

2. World Health Organization. Dementia. 31 March 2025. Accessed 21 July 2025. www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/dementia [3]

3. Srakocic S. Childhood Alzheimer’s: Understanding this rare condition. Healthline. 22 March 2021. Accessed 15 July 2025. www.healthline.com/health/childrens-health/childhood-alzheimers [4].

4. Djafar JV, Johnson AM, Elvidge KL, Farrar MA. Childhood dementia: A collective clinical approach to advance therapeutic development and care. Pediatr Neurol 2023:139;76-85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pediatrneurol.2022.11.015 [5]