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The authors report how the population identifies symptoms of Alzheimer disease (AD) and the causes attributed to this disorder in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. A total of 500 household residents aged 18 years and above were examined in a cross-sectional design, in São Paulo. Instruments were a case vignette depicting AD and a structured questionnaire. The symptoms of AD were identified by 46.4% as memory loss. The term AD was used in only 4% of the responses, although 39.4% of the respondents believed it was a mental illness. The main causes attributed were of psychosocial in nature: "drug use" and "isolation." Factors most influencing responses about causes were marital status, level of education, and economic status. In summary, medical-scientific concepts are not usually used in São Paulo. Causal attributions show that the laypersons' beliefs have important differences from the results of scientific evidence.