New therapeutic promises in the treatment of depression and schizophrenia.

The XXVI Collegium Internationale Neuro-Psychopharmacologicum (CINP) Congress, commemorating its 50th anniversary, was held in Munich, Germany, from July 13 to 17, 2008, at the Internationales Congress Center. Co-incidentally, this year Munich is also celebrating its 850th birthday and venerating various events. Keeping its tradition, the CINP Congress addressed the main issues related to mental depression, schizophrenia and anxiety disorders. The various symposia addressed topics such as immunology in psychiatry, status of conventional and atypical antipsychotics, risks and benefits in long-term use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, interrelating the role of various neurotransmitters, particularly, dopamine and glutamate in psychiatry and animals models employed in central nervous system disorders. The congress also addressed educational issues such as state-of-the-art treatment of various psychiatric disorders. This was in line with the current observations of the World Health Organization (WHO) database, according to which approximately 1 billion people worldwide are battling neurological disorders ranging from migraines to epilepsy and dementia. The economic burden of both treatment and loss of social workforce is huge even though several remedies are available for the management of these disorders. Therefore, the CINP rightly addressed the issues of discovering new targets and therapeutic options in the management of neuropsychiatric disorders. The conference also brought together scientists involved in basic or clinical research. The present article summarizes the outcome of the deliberations.