Alzheimer, Alois (1864–1915)

German neuropathologist. In 1906 he became the first to describe Alzheimer's disease, a degenerative illness affecting the nerve cells of the frontal and temporal lobes of the cerebrum of the brain, characterized by severe memory impairment. It is a major cause of presenile dementia.

Alzheimer was professor of psychiatry and neurology at Breslau University (now Wrocław, Poland) from 1912.