Retired US Supreme Court justice Sandra O'Connor announces diagnosed with 'dementia'

Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman to serve as a U.S. Supreme Court justice, announced on Tuesday that she has been diagnosed with dementia.

"Some time ago, doctors diagnosed me with the beginning stages of dementia, probably Alzheimer's disease," O'Connor, 88, said in a letter issued by the court.

O'Connor was appointed to the court by Republican former President Ronald Reagan in 1981 and retired in 2006.

(With inputs from agencies.)