Health Conditions

What is on the horizon?

Much is happening on the research front. Researchers at Yale University are studying a possible new medication treatment for schizophrenia. This drug (called LY354740) blocks the release of a chemical called glutamate, reversing the effects of another drug (PCP), which causes a psychosis that resembles schizophrenia. Not all studies focus on new medications, however. Researchers are also currently investigating medications that are typically used to treat other, non-related health conditions, such as atomoxetine, dipyridamole and others, to see how they affect the positive, negative and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia.

Some symptoms of schizophrenia (for example, lack of motivation and social withdrawal) are inadequately treated with available medications. Studies are being conducted to gain a better understanding of how available medications and investigational medications affect specific neurotransmitters (substances that allow communication between nerve cells) in the brain. These studies should help scientists determine which drugs work best for which people.

Scientists are further investigating the possible causes and risk factors of schizophrenia. Investigators are using more sophisticated imaging techniques to study the living brain. Through this research, scientists have found evidence that early biochemical changes may precede the onset of schizophrenia.

Researchers at Columbia University are conducting neuroimaging studies on chronic abusers of PCP ("angel dust") in order to examine abnormalities of brain function that might be similar to those observed in schizophrenia. In addition, investigators at the University of California, San Francisco are seeking to identify brain physiology changes associated with the emergence of hallucinations due to schizophrenia and are trying to determine if reversing those changes may alleviate hallucinations.

These studies and numerous others are underway.

Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco are seeking to identify brain physiology changes associated with the emergence of schizophrenic hallucinations and are try to determine if reversing those changes may alleviate hallucinations.

These studies and numerous others are underway.