Researchers in different disciplines think of Alzheimer disease in different and sometimes conflicting ways as they grapple with complex problems such as its genetic basis, its relationship to aging, the provision of community services, and the ethical problems surrounding the personhood of those suffering from dementia. Such difficulty is hardly new. As the essays in this volume show, conceptualizing dementia has always been a complex process. With contributions from noted professionals in psychiatry, neurology, molecular biology, sociology, history, ethics, and health policy, Concepts of Alzheimer Disease looks at the ways in which Alzheimer disease has been differently defined in various historical and cultural contexts. The book covers every major development in the field, from the first case described by Alois Alzheimer in 1907 through the most recent work on the genetics of the disease. Essays examine not only the prominent role that biomedical and clinical researchers have played in defining Alzheimer disease, but the ways in which the perspectives of patients, their caregivers, and the broader public have shaped concepts as well. By thinking about the ways in which concepts of Alzheimer disease have and continue to vary across history and culture, the authors believe we will be better able to deal with the problems this disease will press on us in the future.
