The way to more effective schizophrenia treatments may come to this: Researchers have deduced the cell-signaling pattern created by antipsychotic drugs in two brain receptors.
The findings, detailed in the Nov. 23 issue of Cell, are simple but powerful. Antipsychotic drugs substantially boosted activity in the glutamate mGlu2 receptor and did the opposite in the serotonin 5-HT2A receptor. When researchers brought in hallucinogens to induce one of the main schizophrenia symptoms, the reverse happened.
Scientists believe that both receptors are linked to schizophrenia so the discovery bodes well for the potential of developing better antipsychotic drugs. That's because patients with healthy brains typically see greater glutamate receptor activity, with less activity in the serotonin receptor. The opposite is true in schizophrenia patients, reflecting the study results.
The Mount Sinai researchers said they previously found that the two receptors communicate and work together as "a single complex switch." Future research will explore how to create an ideal balance of activity between both.
Schizophrenia affects about 1% of the global population, the researchers said, and the bid to find effective treatments is potentially lucrative. The FDA recently accepted Otsuka Pharmaceutical's marketing application for a once-monthly version of its blockbuster schizophrenia drug Abilify (aripiprazole).
- here's the release
- check out the study