Is there a pathological way of ageing?

This think piece discusses ‘Alzheimer’s disease’ from a critical anthropological perspective. I aim to challenge the taken-for-granted biomedical framing in four steps. First, a brief genealogical account shows that Alzheimer’s disease as a biomedical category has only recently become a public and global health preoccupation. Second, the concept of medicalization is mobilized to illustrate the construction of and the uncertainty around this new medical object. Third, I build a case for analysing this medical category within a sociocultural context. Finally, a brief account of the relevance of social intervention is given.