Open AccessNewer molecules in the treatment of schizophrenia: A clinical update
Author(s) -
Abhishek Ghosh,
Kaustav Chakraborty,
Surendra Kumar Mattoo
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
indian journal of pharmacology/the indian journal of pharmacology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.286
H-Index - 59
eISSN - 1998-3751
pISSN - 0253-7613
DOI - 10.4103/0253-7613.77334
Subject(s) - dopamine , schizophrenia (object oriented programming) , neurotransmitter , dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia , neuroscience , tolerability , neurotransmitter receptor , neurotransmission , psychology , dopamine receptor d2 , medicine , receptor , psychiatry , pharmacology , central nervous system , adverse effect
Schizophrenia is a heterogeneous psychiatric disorder in which multiple neurotransmitter systems have been implicated. Increased and decreased dopamine transmission in the subcortical meso-limbic and meso-cortical systems is closely linked to the "positive" and "negative" symptoms of schizophrenia, respectively. Important roles have also been found for serotonin and acetylcholine, both of which are closely linked to dopamine. An abnormality in glutamate functioning involving N-methyl-D-aspartic acid as well as other receptor subtypes may underlie the dopamine dysfunction observed in schizophrenia. Since the discovery of chlorpromazine in 1952, researchers have been developing new molecules targeting various neurotransmitter systems to maximize their efficacy and tolerability. The advancements in molecular genetics have opened up new horizons to manipulate the post-receptor protein cascade and gene expression. Although the magic-wand still eludes us, the newer molecules hold a lot of promise in this condition.