First new type of Schizophrenia Drug in over 50 years

The CATIE trials, which became quite famous because of their inclusion in the New York Times, indicated that there hasn’t been a totally brand new mechanism of action in the world of medications for schizophrenia since the 1950s when the first antipsychotic Chlorpromazine was introduced. A new drug by Eli Lilly that is in clinical trials may be the first antipsychotic with a novel mechanism of action since chlorpromazine was introduced.
The investigational drug is called LY2140023. And, here is the big news: LY2140023 affects a neurotransmitter called glutamate. It is the first of a brand-new class of drugs called mGlu2/3 receptor agonists.
All antipsychotics used today act on dopamine, a neurotransmitter, a message-carrying chemical in the brain.
Blocking dopamine causes very unpleasant side-effects and many schizophrenia patents often stop taking their medications because of the unpleasant side effects. Weight gain and diabetes can both cause early death, and both side effects are caused by the dopamine-blocking medications.
There is an experimental drug in an early phase of development which attempts to treat schizophrenia using this new mechanism of action. It seemed to work safely in patients, without the dangerous and annoying side-effects of older drugs, U.S. researchers reported on September 2rd, 2007. 39 articles, in English, around the world on this topic, indicate to me this is an important new development.
LY2140023 is an investigational medication now. Lilly tested the new drug in a double blind study against its older drug Zyprexa in 196 patients in Russia and found it was not as efficacious as Zyprexa, but it is nevertheless effective, and the new drug did not cause many of the side-effects of Zypreza, such as weight gain, cholesterol and hormonal changes.
But, what is a double blind study? Double-blind means that the doctors and the patients are kept in the dark whether the patient is taking LY2140023, Zyprexa or a placebo. This way, the results are more scientifically accurate.
Approximately 32 percent of the patients treated with LY2140023 responded to the treatment, as opposed to 41 percent of patients who got Zyprexa, known generically as olanzapine, and just 3 percent of the patients given placebos.
LY2140023 patients had fewer side-effects. Most were mild, including nausea and headache and insomnia or sleepiness,.
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