Introduction

Abstract

This special issue of International Psychogeriatrics, “Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia: A Clinical and Research Update,” contains the proceedings of a conference held in Lansdowne, Virginia, May 11–13, 1999. It is a sequel to a previous issue that was based on the first international Consensus Conference on Behavioral Disturbances of Dementia (Lansdowne, Virginia, March 31–April 2, 1996). The rationale for the second conference was the growing interest in the symptoms of dementia (e.g., physical aggression, delusions, wandering) that result in premature institutionalization, emotional suffering for patients and caregivers, increased financial costs, and excess disability.