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Alzheimer's disease is a progressive physical illness, which causes "plaques" and "tangles" to develop in the brain, leading to long-term brain damage, writes Rachel Wooller. Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia and is named after the German psychiatrist and neuropathologist, Alois Alzheimer (1864-1915), who first noticed the symptoms in 1906.

People with Alzheimer's disease find they have difficulty remembering recent events, such as paying bills, taking medication or having certain conversations. This can lead to anxiety and confusion as the sufferer's memory of events and the reality fail to match up. People with Alzheimer's sometimes experience difficulty recognising familiar places or people or find that their sense of time has become confused. As the condition develops, sufferers may fail to recognise familiar objects, lose practical skills like dressing and cooking and experience difficulties with language. The brain is a very individual organ and no two people experience Alzheimer's in the same way. Some people retain certain skills for a long time, but lose others very quickly. There are a number of factors that appear to lead to the disease, for example: age, health, diet and genetic inheritance. In order to diagnose Alzheimer's, doctors often use the mini-mental state examination, in which the patient is tested on orientation, memory and language skills. A brain scan is then used to confirm brain damage characteristic of Alzheimer's. There is no cure for Alzheimer's at present, but Aricept, Exelon and Reminyl are three new drugs that may help to slow the progression of the disease.

For more information contact the Alzheimer's Disease Society on 020 7306 0606 or www.alzheimers.org.uk or Crossroads and Admiral Nurses