ABSTRACT. Alzheimer’s disease is the most frequent type of dementia to be found in the elderly. It carries along a huge negative impact on the patients’ lives and their families, and also on caregivers and society in general. It still is a disease quite difficult to diagnose in the early stages, usually starting with a slight loss of memory, and evolving towards dementia within a few years. The promising therapeutic approaches and strategies are partly inefficient at the moment, and even though lots of results in understanding its pathophysiological mechanisms have been made lately, prevention strategies still represent a challenge. It is today the most talked-of type of dementia, probably just as well-known as some of the recently diagnosed celebrities: Charlton Heston, Ronald Reagan, Rita Hayworth, Charles Bronson, Peter Falk and many more. Their legacy obliges us to continue research and care. We will briefly take a look upon what is known about this disease at this moment, and insist on evoking the memory of one of the greatest actors Hollywood ever had: Charlton Heston. pp. 13–16

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; caregivers; celebrity; Charlton Heston