Mohammed T. Abou-Saleh

Principles and Practice of Geriatric Psychiatry.Editors: Professor John R. M. Copeland, Dr Mohammed T. Abou-Saleh and Professor Dan G. BlazerCopyright & 2002 John Wiley & Sons LtdPrint ISBN 0-471-98197-4 Online ISBN 0-470-84641-0Preface to First EditionThe discipline of the psychiatry of old age hasmoved rapidly in recent years and the number ofpractitioners has expanded world-wide. Anauthoritative text is required which draws onthe knowledge of these experts and which reflectsboth new scientific advances and innovations inservice development.In a comparatively new subject many of theissues are still contentious and on some of thesewe have tried to provide the opportunity for theexpression of different points of view. Readersare asked to judge the issues for themselves fromthe evidence set out.Here and there short, special articles have beencommissioned which present research findings inmore detail and describe new aspects of care.They are intended to enliven the text and theirchoice has been dependent on timing andopportunity.We have also tried to give a ‘‘feel’’ for what ishappening in developing countries and the scopeof the problems experienced by local practitioners.Even a book of this size can never be completeand no doubt gaps in the coverage of subjects willbe identified. We would be glad to have thempointed out. The more comprehensive a bookaims to be the longer it takes to come topublication and in a fast-moving area of knowledgethis can be a problem. Many of our authorshave been kind enough to update their contributionsat a late stage, which we hope has overcomethis difficulty to some extent.In the early stages of the development of a subjectthere is insufficient corpus of knowledge toassemble in book form. This situation haschanged dramatically for geriatric psychiatry inrecent years. We hope that the knowledgegathered here from our distinguished internationalpanel of authors bears this out.John R. M. CopelandMohammed T. Abou-SalehDan G. Blazer