ABSTRACT
In large part, advances in pharmacology throughout the past centuries, and, particularly, the recent and rapid advances witnessed in the 19th and 20th centuries, have contributed to the increase in the number and longevity of elderly persons as described in Chapter 2. In addition to decreasing death from infections and acute medical illnesses in youth and middle age, modern pharmacotherapy has begun to address the causes and treatment of disease and disability in old age, including hypertension, stroke, congestive heart failure, adult-onset diabetes, osteoporosis, and cancer.
