The duration of Alzheimer's, ending at death, ranges anywhere from two to twenty years. Symptoms of Alzheimer's will often become noticeable between the ages of 65 and 85, and often become more severe as the person grows older, or as the disease progresses. Although rare, Alzheimer's can manifest itself in patients as young as 45. It is termed "early onset" Alzheimer's disease if it is diagnosed before the age of 65. Alzheimer's disease was first discovered in the very early 1900's, by a German man named Alois Alzheimer. It was not considered a major disease until the 1970's. Alois Alzheimer had been studying a woman in her mid-fifties with greatly impaired cognitive, memory, and social skills. After her death, Alzheimer preformed an autopsy on her brain, revealing that she had plaque formations and neurofibrillary tangles. A neurofibrillary tangle is an insoluble microtubule-associated group of protein that usually is a big indicator of someone with Alzheimer's. However, not everyone with neurofibrillary tangles will develop Alzheimer's. Several test subjects have been found to be completely healthy, indicating that neural degeneration may not be related to neurofibrillary tangles. Neurofibrillary tangles contribute to only a small portion of neuron loss, roughly eight percent. The majority of neuron loss or degradation occurs before a neurofibrillary tangle is formed. To give a little extra background information, before Alzheimer's disease was discovered in 1907, most scientists viewed dementia and Alzheimer's as being a natural part of aging. The only reason Alzheimer's was recognized as a disease in the 1970's is because of the extensive amount of neurological research that occurred at that time. Research on Alzheimer's disease is difficult for numerous reasons. Alzheimer's disease develops very slowly and is complicated to diagnose. Cognitive skill levels vary greatly between patients, normally affected by the amount of education or social interaction the patient experiences in their lifetime. In order to have an accurate diagnosis of Alzheimer's, it becomes necessary for a patient to have a well-documented