On last September 5th the Fourteenth International Congress of the International Psychogeriatric Association (IPA) ended in Montreal (Canada).
Its motto “Paths to Prevention” illustrates quite well the subjects that at this time are a matter of concern for the professionals dedicated to the
care of elderly people with mental diseases.

Coinciding with the renewed interest in preventive strategies, this Congress also stressed the present crisis of the pharmaceutical industry
as to the leadership of therapeutic interventions in psychogeriatry. The perspectives of new treatments, that would entail a significant improvement
over those already available to us in clinical areas as important as depression or dementias in older adults, are really not very promising. The
decrease in new molecules is not as serious as the fact that the last contributions, although always welcome, are not based on any breakthrough
in the understanding of the neurobiological substrate of mental diseases in older adults. These new molecules are generally “copies” of other substances, with improvements in very important aspects, such as tolerance and convenient administration, but they usually do not contribute with
any important advances as regards efficacy or improvement of the overall prognosis for the illness. When faced with these facts, the pharmaceutical
industry arguments that there are all kinds of difficulties before a drug can be marketed, but it seems evident that this industry has sacrificed
innovation for profitability: the repetition of already proved concepts are much more profitable when there are strong and well-trained marketing
structures available.