Schizophrenia Treatment: Breakthroughs and Discoveries

Schizophrenia is a mental illness characterized by impairments in the perception or expression of reality, most commonly manifesting as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions or disorganized speech and thinking in the context of significant social or occupational dysfunction. Persons with Schizophrenia often hear voices and believe that other people are reading their thoughts. Data gathered by the World Health Organization reveals that schizophrenia affects almost one percent of the population worldwide.

Most schizophrenics were doomed to lifelong incarceration but in 1952, a drug called Chlorpromazine was developed and transformed the treatment of Schizophrenia. However, the use of Chlorpromazine to treat Schizophrenia had some serious side effects. Currently, the best drug to treat Schizophrenia is olanzapine; Olanzapine and other anti-schizophrenia drugs works by reducing the levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain. Current anti-Schizophrenia drugs, however, do not control the illness well and could have unpleasant side effects.

A United States based drug company unveiled the first new class of schizophrenia drugs codenamed LY2140023. Psychiatrists welcomed these drugs since it is the first since the 1950s. Researchers of Eli Lilly produced the prototype drug and published their findings in the British journal Nature Science. Solomon Snyder, a neuropharmacologist at John Hopkins University in Baltimore City, commented that this drug development could be compared to the introduction of chlorpromazine.

The prototype drug, LY2140023, works by converting itself into another compound called, LY404023 when ingested. LY404023 dampens down the activity of another type of neurotransmitter called, glutamate. James Monn, one of the researchers said, "Our study is the first conclusive evidence for a role of glutamate in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia." Scientists have been suspecting for decades that the improper neurotransmission of glutamate may be linked to schizophrenia, but up to now the precise mechanism was not understood.

In an article in Nature.com, Monn admitted that the scientists don't know exactly how the new drug produces its antipsychotic actions. The effects of the drug are subtle because it works on a particular glutamate receptor called mGlu2/3. mGlu2/3 is involved in a feedback loop controlling glutamate release and only works when the glutamate system is very active. Researchers believe that bouts of high activity in glutamate system are suspected to be one of the hallmarks of the disease.

In a clinical trial, 196 patients suffering from Schizophrenia were treated with either LY2140023, olanzapine, or a placebo for four weeks. According to Nature Medicine, the drugs were equally effective although the side effects, like insomnia and emotional instability, are slightly different than olanzapine. Nature.com further reports that the new drug did not cause weight gain.

With the current development of LY2140023, schizophrenics may have a chance to live normally in society.

SOURCE:

Alison Abbott, High hopes for new schizophrenia drugs.