[Schizophrenia and the elderly patient]

Despite premature mortality of still approximately twice that in the general population, the increase in mean lifespan of people suffering from schizophrenia and the specific clinical and management features of this disorder raise questions in our practice and present us with a dual challenge. Firstly we need to better characterise these elderly patients by conducting specific rigorous studies, epidemiological, clinical, pharmacological and cognitive. In parallel it would seem essential to precisely quantify the current specialist care offered in receiving, assessing and managing these patients in order to be able to develop the most appropriate alternative structures and best meet this true public health challenge.