Who: Sergei Korsakoff A Russian psychiatrist born in 1887, who studied in Vienna and is often considered ‘one of the greatest psychiatrists of the 19th century.’
His big discovery Korsakoff studied the effects of alcoholism in great detail and took particular interest in its connection with memory loss. In medical papers he described ‘the disturbances of memory in long term alcohol abuse’ which later became known as Korsakoff Syndrome.
Who: Robert Katzman An American neurologist and researcher who was also a founder of the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centre in the US.
His big discovery Katzman persuaded the medical community to change its view of Alzheimer’s which, until then, was still considered a rare disease which only affected people under the age of 65. In the 1970’s Katzman’s research revealed that Alzheimer’s was, in fact, a ‘major killer’ which was also prevalent in older people and should be considered a major public health issue. His work went on to change attitudes and raise awareness, and led to a massive increase in funding for research into the disease.
Did you know? After his death in 2008 colleagues noted that Katzman’s key goal was ‘that everyone must hear of Alzheimer’s disease, understand and defeat it.’
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