Auguste D. (patient)

From Psy3242

Introduction

Auguste D. was a 51-year-old woman from Frankfurt, Germany. She was admitted to a Frankfurt hospital on November 25, 1901. She was initially examined by Alois Alzheimer and that followed for a period of five years, until Auguste D.'s death in April of 1906. Over this period of time, Alzheimer constructed 32 sheets of observation, compiled a case study of Auguste D., and created an attestation about his findings. He also obtained writing samples, which are Auguste's attempts to write her name, and four pictures of her.

Symptoms

Auguste's symptoms were disorientation, unpredictable behavior, hallucinations, a reduced ability to comprehend and recall information, as well as psychosocial impairment. Here are a few examples of her assessments and questionings as recorded by Dr. Alzheimer:

November 26, 1901 • Dr. A: What is your first name? • Patient: Auguste • Dr. A: What is your last name? • Patient: Auguste • Dr. A: What is your husband's name? • Patient: Auguste

When eating cauliflower and pork, Auguste is asked what she is consuming. She answers spinach. When items are showed to her, a short moment later, she cannot remember them. When not being examined, Auguste constantly talks about twins. In attempts to write out her name, Auguste can write Mrs. but forgets the rest.

November 29, 1901 • Dr. A: What year is it? • Patient: 1800 • Dr. A: What is the name of the 11th month? • Patient: The last one, if not the last one.

Auguste has no problem recalling the color of snow, soot, sky, and meadows. She knows how many hands, fingers, and legs she has. She can correctly read letters but cannot understand what she reads. When it comes to simple math such as multiplication of small numbers, Auguste cannot answer correctly and replies with random phrases and words. Physically, Auguste is fairly normal, just a little weak.

Her Legacy

She died in 1906 from pneumonia after being hospitalized for five years. A year after her death, Dr. Alzheimer published his composition under the title "A characteristic serious disease of the cerebral cortex." He characterized his patient with initial symptoms of jealousy toward her husband, followed by rapidly increasing memory impairments and disorientation. Dr. Alzheimer was uncertain of what was causing the disease and called it "peculiar." He noted, however, that several cases were beginning to pop up. When looking at Auguste D.'s brain after her death, the only peculiarity he noticed was in the brain's neurofibrils, and the fibrils around them, but he could not explain why this was. Alzheimer knew it was some form of dementia, but scholars and medical people still debate if it was what we call now Alzheimer's Disease.