Scope

As our knowledge of health and medicine grows, our life expectancy is increased – but furthermore, these advances have to add “life to our years” by improving our health in later life. This longevity highlights the importance of further attention to health and disease and, from a preventative perspective to maintaining good health, the determinants of successful biopsychosocial aging are fundamental. Thus, the focus of the Aging Psychiatry Section begins in adulthood when aging brain processes are already evident, and even in early life when associated developmental and aging processes start to occur. Beyond psychiatry, more general contributions from interdisciplinary areas of neuroscience, such as neuropsychopharmacology, experimental neuropsychobiology, psychoneuroimmunology, neuroimaging, genetics, proteomics, neuropsychiatry, neuropsychology and psychology are necessary and welcome to disentangle mechanisms of psychiatric disorders in old age populations. Aging Psychiatry is a translational platform that promotes collaboration between neuroscientists and clinicians in a translational perspective.

The main focus of Aging Psychiatry is broad to allow for a great range of groundbreaking discourse. We welcome manuscripts that clarify the following areas including, but not limited to: 

• The link between mechanisms and the course of neurodegenerative/psychiatric disorders, and associated treatment responses. 

• The role of cognitive/neural reserve and resilience.

• The importance of new disease models.

• How to identify new biomarkers of diagnosis and treatment response.

• The role of Illness onset (early versus late) and course (chronic, episodic, recurrent) on the mechanisms, phenomenology and treatment response. 

• The role of comorbidity with other medical and neurological illnesses.

• Methods to reduce healthcare costs by improving social aspects and treatment response.

• How the prevention of neurodegenerative disorders impacts epidemiology.

• Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, treatment efficacy, and side effects of different drug treatments, in order to bridge the gap in knowledge between adult and aging psychiatry.

• Discourse on whether nutraceuticals and diet have a role in prevention and/or pathogenetic treatment.

• The role of motor activity/rehabilitation and traditional medicine in neurodegeneration associated psychiatric disorders.

• The role of personalised drug and rehabilitation treatments. 

Aging Psychiatry is a modern, agile forum to illuminate uncertainties in aging, and to examine the root of prejudices towards old age. The ultimate goal is to contribute to the improvement of mental health in old age, and thus our quality of life. We welcome clinical and research findings, as well as perspectives, hypotheses, systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

Submission

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