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One doctor’s case from 1901 changed how we understand memory loss. Auguste Deter was 51 when her husband Carl brought her to see Dr Alois Alzheimer in Frankfurt, worried by memory lapses that had turned into paranoia and confusion. When Auguste died five years later, Alzheimer examined her brain and found two things under the microscope: amyloid plaques between nerve cells and neurofibrillary tangles within them. His 1906 presentation to a room of psychiatrists drew no questions at all. It was not until 1910, when Emil Kraepelin included the case in his Handbook of Psychiatry, that the term Alzheimer’s disease appeared in print for the first time.

Dr Liam Mulcahy, physician trainee and author of Beyond the White Coat, traces that discovery in detail, then Dr Travis Brown turns to two guests for where the disease stands in 2026.

Dr Daniel Clarke, consultant neurologist at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and director of clinical trials at Alzheimer’s Research Australia, covers how Alzheimer’s actually presents (often nothing like the stereotype), why history remains the most important diagnostic tool, and why non-pharmacological measures such as exercise and vascular risk control come before medication. He also explains why family history is often overrated, and why he does not recommend routine APOE4 gene testing.

Dr Gemma Daley, consultant chemical pathologist at Sullivan Nicolaides Pathology, explains what the new p-tau181 and p-tau217 blood tests can and cannot tell a GP, who should and should not be referred for them, and why they are adjunctive tests rather than standalone diagnostic tools.

What to listen for: the presenting features that separate Alzheimer’s from ordinary age-related forgetfulness, and what a negative or positive p-tau result actually means for a patient in front of you.

This is the story of Alzheimer’s disease.

Useful links:

Dementia Australia: https://www.dementia.org.au/

Alzheimer’s Research Australia: https://alzheimersresearch.org.au/

Our Special Guests:

Dr Liam Mulcahy is a physician trainee with an interest in neurology and author of Beyond the White Coat

Dr Daniel Clarke is a consultant neurologist and director of clinical trials at Alzheimer’s Research Australia

Dr Gemma Daley is a consultant chemical pathologist at Sullivan Nicolaides Pathology

Listen:

This Medical Life podcast is available on all podcasting services, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and Spotify. Members of the RACGP are able to log the hours as CPD (Education) that they listen to the episodes under self record via Quick log. We invite you to help support us on our donation page.

One doctor&rsquo;s case from 1901 changed how we understand memory loss. Auguste Deter was 51 when her husband Carl brought her to see Dr Alois Alzheimer in Frankfurt, worried by memory lapses that had turned into paranoia and confusion. When Auguste died five years later, Alzheimer examined her brain and found two things under the microscope: amyloid plaques between nerve cells and neurofibrillary tangles within them. His 1906 presentation to a room of psychiatrists drew no questions at all. It was not until 1910, when Emil Kraepelin included the case in his Handbook of Psychiatry, that the term Alzheimer&rsquo;s disease appeared in print for the first time.
Dr Liam Mulcahy, physician trainee and author of&nbsp;Beyond the White Coat, traces that discovery in detail, then Dr Travis Brown turns to two guests for where the disease stands in 2026.
Dr Daniel Clarke, consultant neurologist at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and director of clinical trials at Alzheimer&rsquo;s Research Australia, covers how Alzheimer&rsquo;s actually presents (often nothing like the stereotype), why history remains the most important diagnostic tool, and why non-pharmacological measures such as exercise and vascular risk control come before medication. He also explains why family history is often overrated, and why he does not recommend routine APOE4 gene testing.
Dr Gemma Daley, consultant chemical pathologist at Sullivan Nicolaides Pathology, explains what the new p-tau181 and p-tau217 blood tests can and cannot tell a GP, who should and should not be referred for them, and why they are adjunctive tests rather than standalone diagnostic tools.
What to listen for: the presenting features that separate Alzheimer&rsquo;s from ordinary age-related forgetfulness, and what a negative or positive p-tau result actually means for a patient in front of you.
This is the story of Alzheimer&rsquo;s disease.
Useful links:
Dementia Australia:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dementia.org.au/">https://www.dementia.org.au/</a>
Alzheimer&rsquo;s Research Australia:&nbsp;<a href="https://alzheimersresearch.org.au/">https://alzheimersresearch.org.au/</a>
Our Special Guests:
Dr Liam Mulcahy is a physician trainee with an interest in neurology and author of&nbsp;Beyond the White Coat
Dr Daniel Clarke is a consultant neurologist and director of clinical trials at Alzheimer&rsquo;s Research Australia
Dr Gemma Daley is a consultant chemical pathologist at Sullivan Nicolaides Pathology
Listen:
This Medical Life podcast is available on all podcasting services,&nbsp;<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-medical-life/id1601195297">Apple Podcasts</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOxm-I73JjiBowEMp6JWxSA">YouTube</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/6K8MFiahgDLbYg5uelXS2w">Spotify</a>. Members of the RACGP are able to log the hours as&nbsp;<a href="https://thismedicallife.com.au/cpd-hours/" data-type="page" data-id="437">CPD (Education)</a>&nbsp;that they listen to the episodes under self record via Quick log.&nbsp;<a href="https://thismedicallife.com.au/buy/donation">We invite you to help support us on our donation page</a>.

Welcome to the This Medical Life podcast. Our mission is to share stories about the triumphs and tragedies of diseases and illnesses from ancient times up until what we know today. It is about those scientific and medical minds who came before us and how, every single day, we stand on the shoulders of giants. This is a podcast about the stories of medicine. Hosted by Dr. Travis Brown and Steve Davis, our target audience is General Practitioners, medical students, and other health professionals. We hope to educate, inspire and celebrate those who choose to care for others in their profession. From experience, we know that our audience extends beyond these fields and would like to welcome anyone to listen. The stories of those who came before us are nothing short of remarkable and we hope you enjoy them as much as we do. Production by Steve Davis

Welcome to the This Medical Life podcast. Our mission is to share stories about the triumphs and tragedies of diseases and illnesses from ancient times up until what we know today. It is about those scientific and medical minds who came before us and how, every single day, we stand on the shoulders of giants. This is a podcast about the stories of medicine. Hosted by Dr. Travis Brown and Steve Davis, our target audience is General Practitioners, medical students, and other health professionals. We hope to educate, inspire and celebrate those who choose to care for others in their profession. From experience, we know that our audience extends beyond these fields and would like to welcome anyone to listen. The stories of those who came before us are nothing short of remarkable and we hope you enjoy them as much as we do. Production by Steve Davis

This Medical Life

Welcome to the This Medical Life podcast. Our mission is to share stories about the triumphs and tragedies of diseases and illnesses from ancient times up until what we know today. It is about those scientific and medical minds who came before us and how, every single day, we stand on the shoulders of giants. This is a podcast about the stories of medicine.


Hosted by Dr. Travis Brown and Steve Davis, our target audience is General Practitioners, medical students, and other health professionals. We hope to educate, inspire and celebrate those who choose to care for others in their profession. From experience, we know that our audience extends beyond these fields and would like to welcome anyone to listen. The stories of those who came before us are nothing short of remarkable and we hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

Production by Tim Whiffen

Design by Tom Buzz

A 1901 case first identified Alzheimer's disease. Dr Daniel Clarke and Dr Gemma Daley on today's presentation, workup and new blood biomarker tests.