RG1678 looks promising for the treatment of schizophrenia

A January 28th posting by Gerson Lehrman Group:

Summary

This article will explore RG1678, a new schizophrenia drug from Roche.

Analysis

RG1678 (molecular structure pictured) is a new compound under investigation by Roche for the treatment of schizophrenia. It is a unique drug in that it targets the negative symptoms of schizophrenia such as apathy and social withdrawal. The currently available medications for schizophrenia usually target the positive symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations. Another very interesting thing about RG1678 is its mechanism of action. It acts as a glycine reuptake inhibitor which normalizes glutamate neurotransmission by increasing synaptic levels of glycine. Elevation of extracellular synaptic glycine concentration by blockade of GlyT1 has been hypothesized to potentiate NMDA receptor function and may represent a new approach for the treatment of schizophrenia and cognitive disorders. Namenda is another drug which also works at the NMDA receptor to affect cognitive function.

RG1678 is currently in Phase 3 studies at Roche and the early results look very promising. Side effects to date have been mild and include anxiety and dose dependent mild elevation of hemoglobin. RG1678 may represent a fresh approach to the treatment of a difficult and debilitating illness.

By Gregg L. Friedman MD, Hallandale Beach, FL

Duration of untreated psychosis is associated with more negative schizophrenia symptoms after acute treatment for first-episode psychosis

The abstract of an article published in the March 1st edition of
Clinical Psychologist:

Abstract

By Niklas Granö, Jenni Lindsberg, Marjaana Karjalainen, Peter Grönroos, and Ari-Pekka Blomberg

Evidence of association between duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) and negative symptoms of schizophrenia in first-episode psychosis (FEP) patients is inconsistent in the recent literature. In the present study, DUP, schizophrenia symptoms, duration of medication, and diagnosis were obtained from hospital archives in a sample of FEP patients. The sample included 41 first-episode patients who had an ICD-10 schizophrenia spectrum diagnosis (F20-F29) and were treated with antipsychotic medication. Longer duration in days from the first psychotic symptoms to the initiation of antipsychotic medication had a statistically significant positive correlation with mean level of negative symptoms (Spearman's ρ = .38; p < .05). Results suggests that DUP is associated with a higher level of negative symptoms after the onset of adequate antipsychotic treatment. This should be considered in the care of FEP.

Keywords: duration of untreated psychosis; first-episode psychosis; negative symptoms

Posting of this abstract is for the purposes of research into psychosis and schizophrenia.