Schizophrenia related to abnormal fatty metabolism in the brain
Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Brian Science (CBS) in Japan have discovered a deficiency in the brains of people with schizophrenia that could lead to the development of new drug therapies.
Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Brian Science (CBS) in Japan have discovered a deficiency in the brains of people with schizophrenia that could lead to the development of new drug therapies. A postmortem comparison published in Schizophrenia Bulletin revealed that schizophrenia was associated with lower than normal levels of S1P, a type of fatty molecule found in the white matter of the brain. Preventing S1P degradation might therefore be a new direction for drug development in treating schizophrenia.
In recent years, drug therapy for schizophrenia has come to a stand-still. Most of the drugs available for schizophrenia are based on dopamine, but they are ineffective in about one out of every three patients. "Because we don't have another angle on what causes schizophrenia, many pharmaceutical companies are pulling out of schizophrenia-related drug development," says Takeo Yoshikawa, team leader at RIKEN CBS. "Hopefully, our findings can provide the new angle with a new target for drug development."
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