The National Institute on Aging (NIA) has historically been concerned with the protection of human subjects. In July 1977, the NIA sponsored a meeting to update and supplement guide lines for protecting those participating in Federal research pro jects. Although the basic guidelines had been in effect since 1966, it had been neglected to include the elderly as a vulnerable population. In November 1981, the NIA organized a conference on the ethical and legal issues related to informed consent in senile dementia cases. The present volume offers the latest and best thinking on Alzheimer's Dementia to have emerged from the dialog that was first embarked upon at the NIA meeting. Indeed, the issues and concerns it treats now seem even more relevant than they appeared historically because of the vastly greater awareness in the community of the entire spectrum of problems Alzheimer's disease confronts us all with. Our interest and concern is both humanitarian and self serving. Clearly older people must be protected from in appropriate research and careful attention must be paid to the circumstances under which research is conducted on those older persons who have given anything less than full consent. It is equally necessary, however, for the research enterprise to be protected so that today's elderly and those of the future can benefit from the fruits of research."

Change is the essence of progress. We now stand at the crossroads of our civilization where change is essential in the conduct of our institu tions, in the plans and models we project for the future, and in the very patterns of our thinking if we are to survive as "one nation under God . . . with liberty and justice for all. " Opportunity to participate and fulfill the responsibility of building the nation must be available to all citizens in a true republic. For the viability of governmental institutions, in a modem democratic nation state, rests on the diversity of the genius of her citizens, and this enables the nation to accommodate herself better to changes of the times. But if the nation becomes impervious to change and resistant to modify its institutions to keep in pace with the times, then the nation will indeed be doomed to wither and perish. History is replete with examples of civilizations that have gone that course. It is therefore our responsibility to insure that our government institutions are kept receptive to change and reflective of the needs and concerns of her citizenry. In America today, economic and social powers generally go to those who can claim a superior education and professional experience. As our society, and indeed the world, becomes increasingly dependent on science and technology, education in those fields becomes impera tive to the power equation."

The National Institute on Aging (NIA) has historically been concerned with the protection of human subjects. In July 1977, the NIA sponsored a meeting to update and supplement guide lines for protecting those participating in Federal research pro jects. Although the basic guidelines had been in effect since 1966, it had been neglected to include the elderly as a vulnerable population. In November 1981, the NIA organized a conference on the ethical and legal issues related to informed consent in senile dementia cases. The present volume offers the latest and best thinking on Alzheimer's Dementia to have emerged from the dialog that was first embarked upon at the NIA meeting. Indeed, the issues and concerns it treats now seem even more relevant than they appeared historically because of the vastly greater awareness in the community of the entire spectrum of problems Alzheimer's disease confronts us all with. Our interest and concern is both humanitarian and self serving. Clearly older people must be protected from in appropriate research and careful attention must be paid to the circumstances under which research is conducted on those older persons who have given anything less than full consent. It is equally necessary, however, for the research enterprise to be protected so that today's elderly and those of the future can benefit from the fruits of research."