ear Colleagues,The topic of dementia is unusual in that it takes in a number of disciplines: neu-rology, psychiatry, geriatrics, neuropsychopharmacology, neuroradiology, and molecularbiology. This topic should be placed within its historical context (Alzheimers disease),but should also be reinterpreted on the basis of anatomical and functional imaging data,putative mechanisms of action, and genotype.Traditional clinical findings (symptomatology of the deficits, and behavioral andconduct disorders) can be correlated with quantifiable findings (evaluation of cognitivefunction, and anatomic and radiological signs).The many mechanistic hypotheses devel-oped have led to multiple proposals for therapy. The effects of these treatments can bedetermined using the various biomarkers described above.The improving health of the general populations and, more particularly, theincrease in life expectancy in many countries have heightened the interest of govern-ments and regulatory agencies in everything that can improve cognitive deficits in theaging population. For this reason, significantbut as yet insufficientfunding is givento research in this field.This issue is intended to review the concept of dementia in terms of our currentknowledge.We are delighted to be able to announce that we have recently been informed thatDialogues in Clinical Neuroscience is now indexed in the international databasesEMBASE and Elsevier BIOBASE. We would like to take this opportunity to thank allthose who have contributed to the quality of our journal, particularly our authors and,of course, our readers.Yours sincerely,Jean-Paul Macher, MDMarc-Antoine Crocq, MDE d i t o r i a lD1