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Alzheimer disease is a common, complex disorder of late life with no known cause. There are, however, rapid advances in the understanding of its neurobiology, many of which are leading to efforts to develop mechanism-based therapies. Surveying pharmacotherapy of Alzheimer disease in a comprehensive way implies the review of issues as diverse as neuropathology, genetics, neurotransmitter physiology, pharmacology, biochemistry, phenomenology, caregiver burden, outcomes, and regulatory affairs. Since we are faced with 2 agents approved by the Food and Drug Administration now, and will likely have 10 in the next 3 years, we all need help in understanding the logic of their development and the issues that will govern their success or failure when used with our patients.
This volume takes the deliberate and necessary risk of gathering contributions from many of these different perspectives in an effort to attempt a multidisciplinary presentation. Since this is a field that is changing