A report from the 164th American Psychiatric Association (May 14-18, 2011 - Honolulu, Hawai'i, U.S.A.)

Although tradition mandates that men should be dressed up in colorless attires, why do men visiting Hawai'i run to the first Aloha shop right after landing to get a multicolored flowery shirt, with a lei flower or kukui tree nut necklace to go with it? The answer to this question could be very complex, but psychiatrists attending this year's American Psychiatric Association meeting in the Honolulu Convention Center acted in a not dissimilar way by running to the new research poster and educational oral sessions of the meeting to learn new colors to paint the life of their patients with. And many colors, or at least an ample variety of treatment modalities, were discussed throughout the 5-day convention, including, notably, a number of innovative drugs with the capability of improving the functioning and quality of life of individuals suffering from psychosis, depression and a broad range of psychiatric diseases. The following report summarizes the main findings from clinical and experimental studies related to new psychiatric pharmacotherapies as reported and discussed during the meeting.