The major CNS diseases include psychiatric disorders and Alzheimer’s disease. Psychiatric disorders affects 340 million people in the world today and by 2020 the World Health Organization predicts that this disorder will be the second largest cause of death and disability in the developing world. In the US, 25% of women and 10% of men can expect to develop depression during their lifetime. This is expensive both in terms of lives (10-15 per cent of patients take their own lives) and money (an estimated $53 billion is spent each year in the US alone). Like depression, anxiety is a common mental illness in the US, affecting more than 19 million people annually. Anxiety including panic, obsessive-compulsive, generalized anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorders as well as phobias (including specific phobia and social phobia) cost the US $46.6 billion in 1990 in direct and indirect costs, nearly one-third of the nation's total mental health bill. Anxiety and depression often coexist with each other or with other clinical conditions. 50-60% of individuals with major depression reports a lifetime history of one or more anxiety disorders. Likewise, depression occurs in as many as 50% of chronic pain patients and in a significant number of patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Approximately 15% of people who live to the age of 65 will develop some form of dementia; by age 85, this proportion increases to at least 35%. The most common of all the dementias is Alzheimer's disease. Existing in two forms, early onset familial disease (FAD) and late onset disease. Four million Americans currently suffer from the condition, and experts estimate that 22 million people around the world will be so afflicted by 2025. New treatments of psychiatric disorders and also Alzheimer’s disease are urgently required and a recent review demonstrates how the renin-angiotensin system could underlie such advances. The renin-angiotensin system has traditionally been associated with cardiovascular disorders, however it also influences behavior: reduction of central angiotensin function has both antidepressant-like and anxiolytic-like actions. Evidence concerning the role of the renin-angiotensin system in learning and memory is contradictory, although more studies support the proposal that angiotensin reduces cognitive function. Studies of renin-angiotensin system genotype and psychological status have suggested, albeit inconclusively, an association between the angiotensin converting enzyme and Alzheimer's disease as well as depressive illness. Targeting the renin-angiotensin system thus has considerable potential for the treatment of major unmet illnesses and this area thus deserves greater attention.

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