Editorial: Pharmacology of BPSD (Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia)

This Research Topic started out on a sombre note. Despite being common in older adults and affecting even some young people, awareness is limited about neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) in dementia, the so-called BPSD, even among health professionals, and only a few drugs registered for them. Around 2018, several pharmaceutical companies stopped or downsized neuroscience research divisions oriented toward Alzheimer’s disease (AD), some of which had drug candidates of potential interest for BPSD. Antipsychotics had fallen out of favor in many locations, as there were reports of elevated mortality that restricted their use. Nonpharmacological treatments usually mandated by law or guidelines were often given limited resources; there was limited agreement about the optimal nonpharmacological treatment and scarce research on them. To address this situation, this Research Topic has involved multiple disciplines ranging from clinics to basic research. The idea is to move away from an abstract view of BPSD toward a detailed understanding and optimized therapeutic interventions. This Research Topic presents 31 papers (one is this Editorial and one is a correction); 139 authors contributed to these.