Alzheimer's disease
noun
Alz·hei·mer's disease
ˈälts-ˌhī-mərz-
ˈalts-
ˈȯlts-
variants
or less commonly Alzheimer disease
or Alzheimer's
: a degenerative brain disease of unknown cause that is the most common form of dementia, that usually starts in late middle age or in old age, that results in progressive memory loss, impaired thinking, disorientation, and changes in personality and mood, and that is marked histologically by the degeneration of brain neurons especially in the cerebral cortex and by the presence of neurofibrillary tangles and plaques containing beta-amyloid
Behavioral problems, such as mood swings and agitation, may also be a part of the progression of Alzheimer's disease.—Allan Perel
… the ability to differentiate normal aging-related memory changes from the impairments associated with dementia, including Alzheimer disease …—C. Munro Cullum
… researchers in California have created mice carrying the gene for beta-amyloid protein, the principal component of the plaques riddling the brains of people with Alzheimer's.—Charlene Crabb
Note: Alzheimer's is often used before another noun.
Alzheimer's patients
—abbreviation AD
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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