New York: An experimental drug, which stimulates the same cell receptors as the cigarette chemical nicotine, is showing promise at improving the thinking deficits that go with schizophrenia, researchers report.
There are several types of schizophrenia but they all fall under the broad category of "psychotic disorder," meaning the patient is not in touch with reality in one or more ways.
Patients are seldom, if ever, cured of this severe mental illness. However, a number of medications can improve the symptoms.
In animal trials of schizophrenia, the new drug, designated PHA-543, 613, had beneficial physiologic effects and improved thinking ability, senior investigator Dr Bruce N Roger said.
Advances have been made in the treatment of schizophrenic symptoms such as delusions and withdrawal and apathy,
However, problems with attention and thinking processes persist, the investigators report in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.
Research into nicotine receptor drugs was originally prompted by the observation that the heavy smoking seen in more than 80 per cent of schizophrenics may be a form of self-medication, according to Rogers and colleagues at Pfizer Global Research and Development, Groton, Connecticut.
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