Study Shows Why Certain Drugs Are Ineffective for Some Schizophrenia Patients

Mount Sinai School of Medicine researchers may have found why certain drugs to treat schizophrenia are ineffective for some patients, according to the online journal Nature Neuroscience. Their discovery may pave the way for a new class of drugs to help treat the mental illness, which impacts one percent of the world’s population, 30 percent of whom do not respond to treatments that currently are available.

The team of researchers set out to learn what epigenetic factors, or external factors that influence gene expression, are involved in this treatment-resistance to atypical antipsychotic drugs, the standard of care for schizophrenia. They found that, over time, an enzyme in the brains of those with schizophrenic analyzed at autopsy begins to compensate for the prolonged chemical changes caused by antipsychotics, resulting in reduced efficacy of the drugs. For more information, click here to read the full release.