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Aging: Decisions at the End of Life pp 171–205Cite as

Research on Elderly Subjects

Striking the Right Balance

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Part of the book series: International Library of Ethics, Law, and the New Medicine ((LIME,volume 12))

Abstract

Many chronic and disabling diseases disproportionately or exclusively affect the elderly. Alzheimer’s dementia would be an obvious illustrative example. Unless medical scientists are able to conduct research upon elderly human subjects, prospects for the development of effective therapies will be poor. In the search for reliable diagnostic tests and for effective therapies, animal models are helpful but, ultimately, not adequate (Schafer 1981). Scientific progress in the diagnosis and treatment of such disease requires that procedures and drugs be tested on those who have the disease or who are at high risk of developing it.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Professional and Applied Ethics, University of Manitoba, Canada

    Arthur Schafer (Professor of Philosophy and Director)

Authors
  1. Arthur Schafer
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculté de Médicine, Université de Montréal, Canada

    David N. Weisstub (Philippe Pinel Professor of Legal Psychiatry and Biomedical Ethics) (Philippe Pinel Professor of Legal Psychiatry and Biomedical Ethics)

  2. Neiswanger Institute for Bioethics and Health Policy, Loyola University of Chicago Medical Center, USA

    David C. Thomasma (Professor and Fr. English Chair of Medical Ethics) (Professor and Fr. English Chair of Medical Ethics)

  3. Centre for Studies on Aging, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Canada

    Serge Gauthier (Professor of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry) (Professor of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry)

  4. Faculty of Law, University of Sydney, Australia

    George F. Tomossy (Ross Waite Parsons Scholar) (Ross Waite Parsons Scholar)

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© 2001 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Schafer, A. (2001). Research on Elderly Subjects. In: Weisstub, D.N., Thomasma, D.C., Gauthier, S., Tomossy, G.F. (eds) Aging: Decisions at the End of Life. International Library of Ethics, Law, and the New Medicine, vol 12. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-9682-4_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-9682-4_10

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-90-481-5898-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-015-9682-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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