How did Dr. Alzheimer find out the changes in his patient's brain? - Alzheimer's #3.

Nissl-stained in the brain tissue 

(Picture from Neuroscience, Purves, et al)

As we know Alzheimer's Disease is a kind of dementia that has specific signs and symptoms.

Based on clinical research a patient who has dementia with Alzheimer's Disease has accumulation of neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid plaques in the brain.

This disease got the name after a Germany physician and clinical psychiatrist, and also conducted some research related to brain disorders, Dr Alois Alzheimer.

Dr. Alzheimer was excited about working in the laboratory. Franz Nissl who discovered a special staining technique became his coworker and then also taught him about staining. 

At that time, the staining in the lab helped the scientists to discover new finding in the organelles of the human body. 

He worked with Nissl for couple years before Nissl moved out for better facility in his research. But they kept in touch being the best friend forever.

Example photo brain tissue by using fluorescence staining

(Picture from sciencephoto.com)

Nissl discovered what we known as Endoplasmic Reticulum. In the past this organelle also called Nissl body. 

In the lab that coordinated by Dr. Alzheimer, some sources mention about Alzheimer team, including H.G Crcutzfeld and A. Jakob. 

Based on H. G Creutzfeld and A. Jakob finding, we got an understanding about mad cow that also called Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD). 

The disease caused by eating bad meat or the meat from the cattle that infected by a certain disease.

Another brilliant person who had been worked in the same lab was Frederic Henry Lewy. He discovered the abnormal accumulation of protein (Lewy bodies). Then we known as Lewy body dementia.

Lewy body dementia (LBD) is a kind of dementia which associated with abnormal deposits of a protein (alpha-synuclein) in the brain.  

The common clinical manisfestations of Lewy body dementia are disturbance in thinking, memory, and movement (motor control). It is the second most common type of progressive dementia after Alzheimer's disease. 

So Dr. Alzheimer found the changes of brain features of his patient by staining the tissue of his patient's brain.