Life Science Encyclopedia

Auguste D was born in May 1850 in Europe. Her maiden name is unknown: however, the D stands for Deter. She married Karl Deter in the 1880s or so and together they had one daughter. Auguste had a normal life. However, during the late 1890s, she started showing symptoms of dementia, such as: loss of memory, delusions, and even temporary vegetative states. She would have trouble sleeping, would drag sheets across the house, and even scream for hours in the middle of the night.

Karl could not take it any more. Being a railway worker, he had to admit her to a mental institution so that he could continue to work. He brought her to Frankfurt Mental Institution in Frankfurt, Germany on 25 November 1901 where she was examined by Dr. Alois Alzheimer. He asked her many questions, and later asked again to see if she remembered. He told her to write her name. She tried to, but would forget the rest and repeat: "I have lost myself." (Ich hab mich verloren) He later put her in an isolation room for a while. When he released her, she would run out screaming, "I do not cut myself. I will not cut myself."

After many years, she became completely mindless, muttering to herself. She died on 8 April 1906. She was the first person diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease.