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THERAPEUTIC

STRATEGIES

DRUG DISCOVERY

TODAY

Treatment

 

of

 

first-episode

schizophrenia:

 

pharmacological

 

and

neurobiological

 

aspects

Alkomiet

 

Hasan

*

,

 

Thomas

 

Wobrock,

 

Daniela

 

Reich-Erkelenz,

 

Peter

 

Falkai

Department

 

of

 

Psychiatry

 

and

 

Psychotherapy,

 

Georg

 

August

 

University

 

Go¨ttingen,

 

Von-Siebold-Strasse

 

5,

 

D-37075

 

Go¨ttingen,

 

Germany

The

 

treatment

 

and

 

understanding

 

of

 

first-episode

 

schi-

zophrenia

 

belongs

 

to

 

the

 

greatest

 

challenges

 

in

 

clinical

psychiatry

 

and

 

psychiatric

 

research.

 

Antipsychotic

drugs

 

revolutionised

 

the

 

therapy

 

of

 

schizophrenia

 

since

their

 

first

 

introduction

 

in

 

the

 

1950s.

 

However,

 

there

are

 

still

 

unsolved

 

questions

 

about

 

an

 

evidence-based

and

 

improved

 

treatment

 

of

 

first-episode

 

patients,

 

which

neurobiological

 

and

 

clinical

 

studies

 

can

 

help

 

answering.

Section

 

editors

:

Diana

 

Kristensen

 

 

Department

 

of

 

Psychiatry,

 

Hvidovre

University

 

Hospital,

 

Brøndby,

 

Copenhagen,

 

Denmark

Mikkel

 

Myatt

 

 

Psykiatrisk

 

Center

 

Glostrup,

 

Copenhagen

University,

 

Glostrup,

 

Copenhagen,

 

Denmark

Introduction

Schizophrenia

 

is

 

still

 

the

 

most

 

serious

 

psychiatric

 

condition

affecting

 

all

 

areas

 

of

 

the

 

patient’s

 

life

 

and

 

leading

 

in

 

most

cases

 

to

 

a

 

chronic

 

disease

 

course.

 

Therefore,

 

the

 

development

of

 

effective

 

therapeutic

 

strategies,

 

especially

 

in

 

the

 

beginning

of

 

the

 

disease,

 

is

 

one

 

of

 

the

 

most

 

important

 

challenges

 

in

psychiatric

 

research.

 

However,

 

most

 

of

 

the

 

available

 

antipsy-

chotic

 

drugs

 

for

 

the

 

treatment

 

of

 

schizophrenia

 

have

 

not

been

 

investigated

 

to

 

a

 

great

 

extent

 

in

 

first-episode

 

schizo-

phrenia

 

patients:

 

even

 

today,

 

only

 

unsatisfying

 

evidence

exists

 

about

 

the

 

arrangement

 

of

 

a

 

conclusive

 

therapy

 

with

the

 

currently

 

available

 

antipsychotic

 

drugs.

This

 

short-review

 

will

 

focus

 

on

 

the

 

currently

 

available

 

and

evidence-based

 

treatment

 

strategies

 

in

 

first-episode

 

schizo-

phrenia

 

and

 

will

 

address

 

problems

 

in

 

transferring

 

findings

from

 

chronically

 

ill

 

to

 

first-episode

 

patients.

 

Furthermore,

 

we

will

 

provide

 

some

 

treatment

 

recommendations

 

according

 

to

the

 

recent

 

national

 

and

 

international

 

guidelines

 

and

 

discuss

new

 

treatment

 

options

 

which

 

might

 

become

 

available

 

for

future

 

clinical

 

use.

Diagnosis

 

and

 

disease

 

course

Research

 

on

 

first-episode

 

schizophrenia

 

patients

 

raises

 

the

question

 

about

 

how

 

to

 

exactly

 

define

 

the

 

first-episode.

 

In

most

 

studies

 

and

 

in

 

clinical

 

practice,

 

the

 

beginning

 

of

 

the

first-episode

 

is

 

defined

 

by

 

the

 

onset

 

of

 

the

 

first

 

prominent,

long-lasting

 

psychotic

 

symptoms

 

identifiable

 

by

 

the

 

patient

 

or

outsiders

 

[

1,2

].

 

However,

 

the

 

definition

 

of

 

first-episode

 

schizo-

phrenia

 

varies

 

and

 

overlaps

 

with

 

other

 

terms

 

like

 

recent-

onset

 

schizophrenia:

 

this

 

may

 

explain

 

diagnostic

 

uncertainties

and

 

variable

 

findings

 

in

 

clinical

 

and

 

experimental

 

trials.

Furthermore,

 

the

 

duration

 

of

 

the

 

untreated

 

illness

 

(DUI,

time

 

from

 

the

 

onset

 

of

 

non-specific

 

symptoms

 

till

 

treatment)

and

 

duration

 

of

 

the

 

untreated

 

psychosis

 

(DUP,

 

time

 

from

 

the

first

 

onset

 

of

 

productive

 

psychotic

 

symptoms

 

till

 

treatment)

represent

 

important

 

aspects

 

in

 

treatment

 

prognosis.

 

Different

studies

 

reveal

 

long

 

DUIs

 

(mean:

 

more

 

than

 

4.5

 

years)

 

and

DUPs

 

(mean:

 

more

 

than

 

2

 

years)

 

before

 

a

 

first-episode

schizophrenia

 

is

 

diagnosed

 

[

2–4

].

 

A

 

prolonged

 

DUI/DUP

 

is

associated

 

with

 

a

 

poorer

 

outcome

 

of

 

the

 

first-episode

 

schizo-

phrenia,

 

a

 

less

 

complete

 

recovery

 

and

 

an

 

increased

 

risk

 

for

a

 

relapse

 

[

5

].

 

A

 

short

 

duration

 

of

 

DUP

 

was

 

found

 

to

 

be

Drug

 

Discovery

 

Today:

 

Therapeutic

 

Strategies

Vol.

 

8,

 

No.

 

1–2

 

2011

Editors-in-Chief
Raymond

 

Baker

 

 

formerly

 

University

 

of

 

Southampton,

 

UK

 

and

 

Merck

 

Sharp

 

&

 

Dohme,

 

UK

Eliot

 

Ohlstein

 

 

GlaxoSmithKline,

 

USA

Treatment

 

of

 

schizophrenia

*Corresponding

 

author:

 

A.

 

Hasan

 

(

ahasan@gwdg.de

),

 

(

a.hasan@ion.ucl.ac.uk

)

1740-6773/$

 

ß

 

2011

 

Elsevier

 

Ltd.

 

All

 

rights

 

reserved.

 

DOI:

 

10.1016/j.ddstr.2011.09.003

 

31

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associated

 

with

 

a

 

better

 

response

 

to

 

antipsychotic

 

treatment

in

 

meta-analyses

 

and

 

systematic

 

reviews

 

[

6

].

 

Therefore,

 

one

key

 

feature

 

of

 

a

 

modern

 

and

 

successful

 

treatment

 

of

 

first-

episode

 

schizophrenia

 

is

 

to

 

shorten

 

the

 

time

 

between

 

symp-

tom

 

onset

 

and

 

diagnosis

 

and

 

to

 

start

 

antipsychotic

 

treatment

as

 

soon

 

as

 

the

 

diagnosis

 

of

 

first-episode

 

schizophrenia

 

is

confirmed

 

[

5

].

 

The

 

question,

 

whether

 

to

 

treat

 

patients

 

during

the

 

prodromal

 

phase

 

before

 

explicitly

 

diagnosing

 

a

 

first-epi-

sode

 

schizophrenia

 

or

 

not

 

is

 

subject

 

of

 

ongoing

 

discussions

(see

 

[

7,8

]).

 

However,

 

because

 

of

 

low

 

transition

 

rates

 

(below

20%

 

[

9

])

 

and

 

only

 

few

 

randomized

 

clinical

 

trials,

 

currently

 

no

specific

 

evidence-based

 

treatment

 

for

 

the

 

prodromal

 

phase

can

 

be

 

recommended.

First-generation

 

antipsychotics

 

or

 

second-generation

antipsychotics?

Since

 

the

 

first

 

introduction

 

of

 

antipsychotic

 

drugs,

 

a

 

magni-

tude

 

of

 

randomized

 

clinical

 

trials

 

provided

 

strong

 

evidence

for

 

their

 

efficacy

 

in

 

the

 

treatment

 

of

 

psychotic

 

symptoms

 

in

first-episode

 

and

 

multi-episode

 

schizophrenia

 

patients

 

(for

detailed

 

reviews

 

see

 

[

5,10

]).

 

With

 

regard

 

to

 

the

 

side

 

effect

profile

 

and

 

the

 

date

 

of

 

the

 

commercial

 

launch,

 

first-genera-

tion

 

antipsychotics

 

(FGAs,

 

‘old

 

antipsychotics’)

 

are

 

still

 

dif-

ferentiated

 

from

 

second-generation

 

antipsychotics

 

(SGAs,

‘new

 

antipsychotics’).

 

High-potency

 

FGAs

 

were

 

mainly

 

intro-

duced

 

in

 

the

 

1960s

 

and

 

1970s

 

and

 

act

 

predominately

 

as

dopamine-D2-receptor

 

antagonists.

 

This

 

D2-receptor

 

antag-

onism

 

is

 

responsible

 

for

 

the

 

neurological

 

side-effects

 

of

 

the

FGAs.

 

Clozapine

 

was

 

introduced

 

in

 

1972

 

and

 

was

 

the

 

first

SGA,

 

characterized

 

by

 

less

 

neurological

 

side-effects

 

than

 

the

known

 

FGAs.

 

From

 

the

 

early

 

1990s

 

till

 

today,

 

19

 

different

 

so-

called

 

SGAs

 

have

 

been

 

internationally

 

launched.

 

These

 

SGAs

are

 

characterized

 

by

 

a

 

heterogeneous

 

receptor

 

profile

 

(D2-

antagonism,

 

D4-antagonism,

 

5HT-agonism/antagonism

 

(on

different

 

subtypes),

 

mACh-Antagonims),

 

heterogeneous

 

effi-

cacy

 

and

 

a

 

heterogeneous

 

spectrum

 

of

 

side-effects.

Today,

 

this

 

classification

 

into

 

FGAs

 

and

 

SGAs

 

and

 

the

generalisation

 

of

 

receptor-binding

 

profile,

 

efficacy

 

and

 

side-

effects

 

within

 

each

 

group

 

must

 

be

 

considered

 

as

 

critical,

because

 

neither

 

SGAs

 

nor

 

FGAs

 

represent

 

a

 

homogenous

class

 

[

11

].

The

 

situation

 

is

 

further

 

complicated

 

by

 

the

 

important

 

fact

that

 

only

 

few

 

studies

 

compared

 

the

 

efficacy

 

of

 

the

 

FGAs

 

and

SGAs

 

in

 

the

 

treatment

 

of

 

first-episode

 

schizophrenia

 

patients

in

 

double-blinded

 

randomized

 

clinical

 

trials

 

with

 

a

 

satisfy-

ingly

 

large

 

sample

 

size.

From

 

1999

 

to

 

2011,

 

five

 

different

 

randomized

 

clinical

 

trials

with

 

a

 

large

 

sample

 

size

 

compared

 

FGAs

 

(haloperidol)

 

and

SGAs

 

(olanzapine

 

or

 

clozapine

 

or

 

risperidone)

 

and

 

these

studies

 

did

 

not

 

reveal

 

a

 

statistically

 

significant

 

difference

 

of

efficacy

 

[

12–16

].

 

In

 

2008,

 

the

 

first

 

head-to-head

 

comparison

between

 

FGAs

 

(haloperidol)

 

and

 

SGAs

 

(amisulpiride,

 

ziprasi-

done,

 

quetiapine,

 

olanzapine)

 

was

 

published

 

(EUFEST-Study

[

17

]),

 

showing

 

no

 

differences

 

concerning

 

efficacy

 

expressed

as

 

treatment

 

discontinuation.

 

These

 

findings

 

were

 

confirmed

in

 

a

 

recent

 

meta-analysis

 

including

 

150

 

double-blind

 

rando-

mized

 

clinical

 

trials

 

with

 

21,533

 

participants

 

revealing

 

no

efficacy

 

differences

 

between

 

FGAs

 

(haloperidol)

 

and

 

different

SGAs

 

[

11

].

 

Currently,

 

short-term

 

trials

 

could

 

not

 

detect

 

any

difference

 

of

 

efficacy

 

in

 

psychotic

 

symptom

 

reduction

between

 

FGAs

 

(especially

 

haloperidol)

 

and

 

SGAs,

 

whereas

some

 

few

 

long-term

 

trials

 

indicate

 

that

 

SGAs

 

might

 

be

 

super-

ior

 

to

 

FGAs

 

with

 

regard

 

to

 

relapse

 

prevention

 

[

10

].

However,

 

if

 

FGAs

 

and

 

SGAs

 

do

 

show

 

the

 

same

 

efficacy

 

in

the

 

treatment

 

of

 

positive

 

symptoms,

 

which

 

antipsychotic

class

 

should

 

be

 

used

 

for

 

the

 

treatment

 

of

 

first-episode

 

schizo-

phrenia?

 

Paradigms

 

are

 

changing

 

and

 

bit

 

by

 

bit

 

the

 

side-

effects

 

are

 

attached

 

greater

 

significance.

 

First-episode

 

schizo-

phrenia

 

patients

 

usually

 

are

 

young

 

patients

 

who

 

might

 

need

 

a

long-term

 

treatment

 

and

 

it

 

is

 

evident

 

that

 

side-effects

 

are

 

one

important

 

reason

 

for

 

treatment

 

discontinuation

 

and

 

non-

adherence

 

[

5,18

].

Side-effects

Antipsychotic

 

drugs

 

are

 

a

 

heterogeneous

 

drug

 

class

 

and

 

each

antipsychotic

 

has

 

its

 

individual

 

side-effect

 

profile.

 

A

 

wide

range

 

of

 

side-effects

 

has

 

been

 

described

 

elsewhere

 

[

5,10

],

but

 

in

 

summary

 

four

 

big

 

groups

 

of

 

side-effects

 

[

10,18

]

 

with

particular

 

importance

 

for

 

young

 

patients

 

are

 

emerging:

1.

 

Neurological

 

side

 

effects

 

(extrapyramidal

 

side-effects;

 

tard-

ive

 

dyskinesia,

 

acute

 

dystonia,

 

akathisia).

2.

 

Metabolic

 

side

 

effects

 

(weight

 

gain,

 

induction

 

of

 

diabetes,

hyperlipidemia).

3.

 

Prolactine

 

elevation

 

and

 

sexual

 

dysfunction.

4.

 

Cardiovascular

 

side-effects

 

(ECG-abnormalities,

 

QTc-pro-

longation,

 

tachycardia,

 

orthostatic

 

hypotension).

It

 

should

 

be

 

noticed

 

that

 

first-episode

 

patients

 

are

 

much

more

 

sensitive

 

to

 

the

 

various

 

side-effects

 

of

 

antipsychotic

drugs

 

than

 

multi-episode

 

schizophrenia

 

patients

 

[

5

].

 

Schizo-

phrenia

 

patients

 

in

 

general

 

have

 

an

 

illness-independent

 

risk

for

 

developing

 

a

 

metabolic

 

syndrome

 

[

19

]

 

and

 

untreated

 

first-

episode

 

patients

 

show

 

an

 

increased

 

amount

 

of

 

intra-abdom-

inal

 

fat

 

in

 

comparison

 

to

 

matched

 

healthy

 

controls

 

[

20

].

High-potency

 

FGAs

 

(like

 

haloperidol)

 

and

 

some

 

SGAs

(especially

 

risperidone/paliperidone,

 

but

 

other

 

SGAs,

 

too)

carry

 

the

 

risk

 

to

 

induce

 

neurological-side

 

effects,

 

whereupon

the

 

risk

 

for

 

such

 

side

 

effects

 

is

 

increased

 

following

 

a

 

treatment

with

 

FGA

 

in

 

first-episode

 

schizophrenia

 

patients

 

[

17

].

 

Both,

FGAs

 

and

 

SGAs

 

could

 

induce

 

weight-gain

 

and

 

a

 

metabolic

syndrome

 

[

21

],

 

but

 

certain

 

SGAs

 

(clozapine,

 

olanzapine,

 

que-

tiapine,

 

risperidone)

 

are

 

linked

 

to

 

the

 

highest

 

risk

 

of

 

this

 

side-

effect

 

[

5,10,17

].

 

Prolactine

 

elevation

 

is

 

associated

 

with

 

high-

potency

 

FGAs

 

and

 

some

 

SGAs

 

(especially

 

amisulpride

and

 

risperidone/paliperidone)

 

[

5,10,22

].

 

Last

 

but

 

not

 

least,

Drug

 

Discovery

 

Today:

 

Therapeutic

 

Strategies

 

|

 

Treatment

 

of

 

schizophrenia

 

Vol.

 

8,

 

No.

 

1–2

 

2011

32

 

www.drugdiscoverytoday.com

background image

cardiovascular

 

side-effects

 

should

 

be

 

considered

 

when

 

using

antipsychotic

 

drugs.

 

All

 

antipsychotic

 

drugs

 

are

 

more

 

or

 

less

linked

 

to

 

cardiovascular

 

side

 

effects

 

[

5

].

 

Certain

 

SGAs

 

are

associated

 

with

 

a

 

significant

 

QTc

 

prolongation

 

(sertindole,

ziprasidone)

 

or

 

the

 

risk

 

of

 

inducing

 

a

 

myocarditis

 

(clozapine)

[

10,23

].

How

 

to

 

treat

 

psychotic

 

symptoms

 

in

 

first-episode

schizophrenia

 

patients?

Data

 

from

 

large

 

controlled

 

trials

 

comparing

 

the

 

efficacy

 

in

first-episode

 

schizophrenia

 

patients

 

are

 

still

 

lacking.

 

Because

of

 

practical

 

reasons

 

(easy

 

and

 

fast

 

inclusion

 

into

 

studies),

most

 

clinical

 

trials

 

have

 

been

 

conducted

 

in

 

chronically

 

ill

schizophrenia

 

patients.

 

Besides

 

the

 

development

 

of

 

new

therapeutic

 

agents,

 

the

 

established

 

antipsychotic

 

drugs

 

have

to

 

be

 

investigated

 

and

 

to

 

be

 

compared

 

in

 

additional

 

clinical

trials

 

with

 

a

 

large

 

number

 

of

 

first-episode

 

patients.

 

Today,

 

the

findings

 

from

 

multi-episode

 

patients

 

are

 

transferred

 

to

 

first-

episode

 

patients

 

and

 

the

 

findings

 

of

 

one

 

antipsychotic

 

drug

to

 

another

 

one.

 

Such

 

results

 

have

 

to

 

be

 

regarded

 

with

 

a

 

critical

eye.

 

Recent

 

publications

 

indicate

 

that

 

there

 

are

 

fundamental

neurobiological

 

differences

 

between

 

first-episode

 

and

 

multi-

episode

 

schizophrenia

 

patients

 

and

 

as

 

stated

 

before,

 

antipsy-

chotics

 

are

 

a

 

very

 

heterogeneous

 

group

 

and

 

therefore

 

difficult

to

 

compare.

First

 

of

 

all,

 

an

 

optimal

 

and

 

evidence

 

based

 

antipsychotic

treatment

 

of

 

first-episode

 

schizophrenia

 

should

 

follow

national

 

or

 

international

 

guidelines

 

[

5,10

].

 

Secondly,

 

each

patient

 

should

 

receive

 

an

 

individual

 

treatment

 

addressing

 

the

individual’s

 

risk

 

profile

 

for

 

side-effects,

 

the

 

individual’s

 

symp-

tomatology

 

and

 

the

 

individual’s

 

clinical

 

and

 

social

 

needs

[

11,24

].

 

Thirdly,

 

for

 

being

 

more

 

responsive

 

to

 

antipsychotic

treatment,

 

first-episode

 

schizophrenia

 

patients

 

have

 

an

increased

 

risk

 

to

 

develop

 

side-effects

 

[

10

].

 

Therefore,

 

they

should

 

be

 

treated

 

with

 

dosages

 

at

 

the

 

lower

 

end

 

of

 

the

standard

 

dose

 

range

 

[

10

].

 

Finally,

 

one

 

of

 

the

 

most

 

important

reasons

 

for

 

treatment

 

resistance

 

and

 

relapse

 

in

 

early

 

schizo-

phrenia

 

is

 

non-adherence

 

to

 

antipsychotic

 

medication

 

[

5

].

Therefore,

 

adherence

 

should

 

be

 

discussed

 

with

 

the

 

patient

(psychoeducation)

 

and

 

ensured

 

by

 

therapeutic

 

drug

 

monitor-

ing,

 

if

 

necessary.

 

Long-acting

 

formulations

 

of

 

antipsychotics

(FGAs

 

and

 

SGAs)

 

could

 

help

 

to

 

improve

 

adherence

 

and

 

to

reduce

 

the

 

relapse

 

rate

 

and

 

should

 

be

 

offered

 

to

 

patients

 

with

non-adherence.

Is

 

there

 

a

 

pharmacological

 

treatment

 

of

 

negative

symptoms?

Patients

 

with

 

a

 

first-episode

 

usually

 

present

 

positive

 

symp-

toms

 

at

 

their

 

first

 

contact

 

with

 

professional

 

healthcare.

 

Dur-

ing

 

the

 

disease

 

course,

 

negative

 

symptoms,

 

such

 

as

withdrawal

 

from

 

social

 

life,

 

apathy

 

and

 

anhedonia,

 

are

 

likely

to

 

occur.

 

A

 

couple

 

of

 

years

 

ago,

 

companies

 

claimed

 

an

improved

 

efficacy

 

of

 

SGAs

 

for

 

the

 

treatment

 

of

 

negative

symptoms

 

[

11

]

 

and

 

raised

 

hope

 

for

 

new

 

treatment

 

options.

However,

 

FGAs

 

and

 

SGAs

 

show

 

similar

 

efficacy

 

in

 

the

 

treat-

ment

 

of

 

negative

 

symptoms

 

by

 

both

 

only

 

slightly

 

improving

them

 

[

11,17,18

].

 

The

 

recently

 

published

 

recommendations

from

 

the

 

Schizophrenia

 

Patient

 

Outcomes

 

Research

 

Team

(PORT)

 

are

 

more

 

reserved

 

stating

 

an

 

‘insufficient

 

level

 

of

evidence

 

to

 

support

 

a

 

treatment

 

recommendation

 

for

 

any

pharmacological

 

treatment

 

of

 

negative

 

symptoms

 

in

 

schizo-

phrenia’

 

[

10

].

Implications

 

from

 

neuroscientific

 

research

Experimental

 

studies

 

indicate

 

pathophysiological

 

and

 

struc-

tural

 

changes

 

in

 

the

 

brain

 

of

 

schizophrenia

 

patients.

 

A

 

‘toxic’,

maybe

 

neurodegenerative

 

effect

 

of

 

psychosis

 

and

 

relapse

 

is

discussed

 

based

 

on

 

the

 

enhanced

 

symptom

 

severity,

 

the

reduced

 

neurocognitive

 

ability

 

and

 

the

 

reduced

 

drug

 

sensi-

tivity

 

in

 

multiple-episode

 

schizophrenia

 

patients

 

[

25

].

 

A

 

large

body

 

of

 

work

 

has

 

been

 

published

 

dealing

 

with

 

the

 

neurobiol-

ogy

 

of

 

the

 

disease

 

course

 

in

 

schizophrenia

 

and

 

we

 

would

 

like

to

 

introduce

 

three

 

recently

 

published

 

studies

 

to

 

the

 

reader.

One

 

longitudinal

 

MRI

 

study

 

(first

 

MRI

 

was

 

recorded

 

during

the

 

first-episode

 

with

 

a

 

consecutive

 

mean

 

follow-up

 

of

 

7

years)

 

revealed

 

that

 

antipsychotics

 

(no

 

matter

 

if

 

FGAs

 

or

SGAs)

 

have

 

a

 

significant

 

impact

 

on

 

brain

 

tissue

 

loss

 

over

time,

 

which

 

is

 

related

 

to

 

findings

 

from

 

animal

 

studies

 

in

macaque

 

monkeys

 

[

26

].

 

The

 

same

 

group

 

published

 

another

very

 

interesting

 

longitudinal

 

study

 

indicating

 

that

 

some

schizophrenia

 

patients

 

show

 

an

 

accelerated

 

and

 

progressive

decrement

 

in

 

brain

 

tissue

 

volume

 

compared

 

to

 

healthy

 

con-

trols

 

[

27

].

 

The

 

authors

 

investigated

 

first-episode

 

schizophre-

nia

 

patients

 

who

 

have

 

been

 

followed

 

up

 

to

 

18

 

years

 

and

 

found

the

 

greatest

 

volume

 

losses

 

during

 

the

 

early

 

stages

 

of

 

the

 

illness

[

27

].

 

Finally,

 

in

 

a

 

cross-sectional

 

proof-of-principle

 

study

 

we

showed

 

that

 

cortical

 

plasticity

 

is

 

affected

 

in

 

multiple-episode

schizophrenia

 

patients,

 

but

 

not

 

in

 

recent-onset

 

schizophre-

nia

 

patients

 

with

 

only

 

one

 

psychotic

 

episode

 

[

28

].

Summing

 

up,

 

there

 

is

 

neurobiological

 

evidence

 

for

 

a

 

dys-

functional

 

neuroplasticity

 

and

 

impaired

 

structural

 

integrity

during

 

the

 

disease

 

course

 

of

 

schizophrenia.

 

Today,

 

antipsy-

chotic

 

treatment

 

does

 

not

 

account

 

for

 

such

 

differences

between

 

first-episode

 

and

 

chronically

 

ill

 

schizophrenia

patients.

 

However,

 

new

 

antipsychotic

 

drugs

 

are

 

under

 

way

and

 

plasticity

 

modulating

 

therapies

 

might

 

provide

 

an

 

inno-

vative

 

treatment

 

option.

New

 

treatment

 

options

The

 

dopamine

 

hypothesis

 

of

 

schizophrenia

 

‘has

 

been

 

one

 

of

the

 

most

 

enduring

 

ideas

 

in

 

psychiatry’

 

[

29

],

 

but

 

many

 

other

neurotransmitters

 

and

 

neuromodulators

 

(glutamate,

 

acetyl-

choline,

 

endogenous

 

cannabinoid)

 

are

 

likely

 

to

 

be

 

involved

in

 

its

 

pathophysiology.

 

Therefore,

 

new

 

antipsychotic

 

drugs,

which

 

do

 

not

 

follow

 

the

 

pharmacological

 

principle

 

of

 

dopa-

mine/5-HT

2

antagonism

 

[

30

],

 

are

 

designed

 

to

 

target

 

other

Vol.

 

8,

 

No.

 

1–2

 

2011

 

Drug

 

Discovery

 

Today:

 

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Strategies

 

|

 

Treatment

 

of

 

schizophrenia

www.drugdiscoverytoday.com

 

33

background image

receptor

 

systems

 

(especially

 

the

 

glutamate

 

and

 

acetylcholine

system).

 

A

 

detailed

 

overview

 

about

 

new

 

therapeutic

 

agents

 

is

published

 

elsewhere

 

[

31

].

 

Promising

 

novel

 

agents

 

are

 

LY-

404039,

 

a

 

metabotropic

 

glutamate

 

receptor

 

2/3

 

agonist

[

32

],

 

AVE1625,

 

a

 

cannabinoid-1-receptor

 

agonist

 

[

33

]

 

and

NS14492,

 

a

 

high-affinity

 

a

(7)nAChR-selective

 

partial

 

agonist

[

34

].

Furthermore,

 

phosphodiesterase

 

10A

 

(PDA10A)

 

inhibitors

are

 

discussed

 

to

 

provide

 

efficacy

 

in

 

the

 

treatment

 

of

 

schizo-

phrenia

 

[

35

].

 

Other

 

new

 

therapeutic

 

principles

 

are

 

the

 

mod-

ulation

 

of

 

5-HT(7)

 

receptors

 

[

36

]

 

or

 

of

 

dopamine

 

receptor

interacting

 

proteins,

 

like

 

NCS-1

 

[

37

].

 

These

 

agents

 

already

 

are

or

 

have

 

to

 

be

 

investigated

 

in

 

future

 

animal

 

studies/pre-clin-

ical-

 

and

 

clinical

 

trials.

In

 

schizophrenia

 

patients,

 

add

 

on

 

treatment

 

with

 

polyun-

saturated

 

fatty

 

acids

 

(e.g.

 

omega-3

 

or

 

omega-6

 

fatty

 

acids)

have

 

been

 

investigated

 

with

 

regard

 

to

 

their

 

efficacy

 

for

 

symp-

tom

 

reduction.

 

However,

 

an

 

important

 

meta-analysis

(Cochrane

 

review)

 

including

 

eight

 

different

 

studies

 

revealed

inconclusive

 

results

 

[

38

].

 

Therefore,

 

there

 

is

 

currently

 

not

enough

 

evidence

 

to

 

support

 

general

 

treatment

 

recommenda-

tions

 

with

 

polyunsaturated

 

fatty

 

acids.

Interestingly,

 

a

 

recently

 

published

 

double-blind,

 

placebo

controlled

 

randomized

 

clinical

 

trial

 

explored

 

the

 

efficacy

 

of

omega-3

 

fatty

 

acids

 

in

 

prodromal

 

patients.

 

This

 

study

 

found

that

 

omega-3

 

fatty

 

acids

 

reduce

 

the

 

risk

 

of

 

progression

 

to

psychotic

 

disorder

 

in

 

ultra-high-risk

 

prodromal

 

patients

 

[

39

].

In

 

conclusion,

 

omega-3

 

fatty

 

acids

 

may

 

be

 

a

 

promising

 

ther-

apeutic

 

option

 

in

 

future,

 

but

 

further

 

studies

 

need

 

to

 

confirm

these

 

preliminary

 

findings.

In

 

chronically

 

ill

 

patients,

 

treatment

 

approaches

 

to

enhance

 

neuroplasticity

 

were

 

shown

 

to

 

be

 

promising

 

in

 

small

proof-of

 

principle

 

studies

 

and

 

clinical

 

trials.

 

We

 

performed

 

a

sham-controlled

 

clinical

 

trial

 

to

 

investigate

 

the

 

influence

 

of

exercise

 

on

 

cognition

 

and

 

brain

 

volume

 

in

 

chronic

 

schizo-

phrenia.

 

Exercise

 

resulted

 

in

 

a

 

significant

 

increase

 

of

 

hippo-

campal

 

volume

 

(mean:

 

15%),

 

in

 

an

 

increase

 

of

 

hippocampal

n-acetyl-aspartate

 

(a

 

marker

 

for

 

neuronal

 

integrity)

 

and

 

in

 

an

improved

 

performance

 

in

 

verbal

 

and

 

spatial

 

working

 

memory

[

40

].

Weekly

 

intravenous

 

recombinant

 

erythropoietin

 

(EPO)

halts

 

the

 

progressive

 

cortical

 

atrophy

 

in

 

chronic

 

schizophre-

nia

 

and

 

improves

 

attention

 

and

 

memory

 

functions

 

[

41

].

Molecular

 

and

 

cell

 

studies

 

support

 

these

 

findings,

 

because

EPO

 

is

 

known

 

to

 

stimulate

 

axonal

 

sprouting,

 

synaptogenesis

and

 

to

 

modulate

 

synaptic

 

plasticity

 

[

42

].

Finally,

 

low

 

frequency

 

transcranial

 

magnetic

 

stimulation

(TMS)

 

is

 

proved

 

to

 

be

 

effective

 

and

 

is

 

therefore

 

recommended

for

 

the

 

treatment

 

of

 

refractory

 

auditory

 

hallucinations

 

[

10

].

In

 

summary,

 

modulation

 

of

 

neuroplasticity

 

might

 

be

 

pro-

mising

 

for

 

the

 

future

 

treatment

 

of

 

schizophrenia.

 

Especially,

transcranial

 

non-invasive

 

brain

 

stimulation

 

techniques,

 

like

TMS

 

or

 

transcranial

 

direct

 

current

 

stimulation

 

(tDCS),

 

have

 

to

be

 

further

 

investigated

 

and

 

tested

 

for

 

possible

 

application

 

in

schizophrenia.

 

However,

 

all

 

new

 

antipsychotic

 

drugs

 

and

treatment

 

strategies

 

have

 

to

 

be

 

proven

 

in

 

first-episode

patients,

 

because

 

till

 

today

 

all

 

studies

 

have

 

been

 

conducted

in

 

chronically

 

ill

 

patients.

Conclusions

Schizophrenia

 

is

 

a

 

disorder

 

with

 

a

 

heterogeneous

 

symptoma-

tology

 

presenting

 

a

 

wide

 

array

 

of

 

symptoms:

 

positive

 

symp-

toms,

 

negative

 

symptoms,

 

cognitive

 

impairments,

 

affective

symptoms,

 

suicidality

 

and

 

many

 

more.

 

There

 

are

 

clinical

 

and

neurobiological

 

differences

 

between

 

the

 

early

 

course,

 

the

first-episode

 

and

 

the

 

chronic

 

illness.

 

Therefore,

 

hoping

 

for

one

 

magic

 

bullet

 

for

 

all

 

disease

 

stages

 

and

 

all

 

symptom

complexes

 

is

 

highly

 

unrealistic.

 

In

 

the

 

future,

 

new

 

treatment

strategies

 

apart

 

from

 

dopamine

 

antagonists

 

and

 

5HT-receptor

modulating

 

drugs

 

are

 

needed.

 

Today,

 

a

 

modern

 

and

 

evidence-

based

 

treatment

 

of

 

first-episode

 

schizophrenia

 

should

 

follow

the

 

recommendations

 

of

 

national

 

and

 

international

 

guide-

lines

 

with

 

particular

 

emphasis

 

on

 

the

 

side-effects

 

of

 

antipsy-

chotics.

 

Furthermore,

 

it

 

should

 

be

 

remembered

 

that

 

the

currently

 

available

 

antipsychotics

 

are

 

powerful

 

drugs

 

in

 

the

treatment

 

of

 

positive

 

symptoms

 

and

 

relapse

 

prevention,

 

but

have

 

only

 

little

 

effects

 

on

 

negative

 

and

 

affective

 

symptoms.

First-episode

 

schizophrenia

 

patients

 

display

 

prominent

differences

 

in

 

symptomatology,

 

response

 

to

 

antipsychotic

treatment,

 

sensitivity

 

to

 

drug

 

side-effects

 

and

 

in

 

the

 

under-

lying

 

neurobiology.

 

Therefore,

 

the

 

knowledge

 

transfer

 

from

the

 

findings

 

in

 

chronically

 

ill

 

patients

 

to

 

first-episode

 

patients

should

 

be

 

regarded

 

with

 

caution.

 

More

 

baseline

 

studies

 

and

longitudinal

 

follow-up

 

studies

 

are

 

needed

 

to

 

extend

 

the

knowledge

 

about

 

the

 

neurobiology

 

and

 

the

 

disease

 

course

of

 

schizophrenia

 

patients.

 

Larger

 

well-designed

 

double-

blinded

 

randomized

 

trials

 

with

 

head-to-head

 

comparisons

of

 

the

 

available

 

antipsychotic

 

drugs

 

in

 

first-episode

 

are

 

also

needed

 

to

 

improve

 

the

 

treatment

 

and

 

to

 

allow

 

more

 

evi-

dence-based

 

recommendations.

Antipsychotics

 

have

 

revolutionised

 

the

 

treatment

 

of

 

schi-

zophrenia

 

after

 

their

 

introduction

 

in

 

the

 

1950s.

 

They

 

are

 

the

greatest

 

achievement

 

in

 

psychiatry

 

and

 

they

 

improved

 

the

treatment,

 

the

 

quality

 

of

 

life

 

and

 

the

 

disease

 

prognosis

 

of

schizophrenia

 

patients.

 

Now

 

it

 

is

 

time

 

to

 

take

 

the

 

next

 

step

towards

 

further

 

therapeutic

 

improvements

 

and

 

we

 

have

 

a

legitimate

 

hope

 

that

 

in

 

future

 

there

 

will

 

be

 

new

 

treatment

options

 

available.

Conflicts

 

of

 

interest

A.

 

Hasan

 

was

 

invited

 

to

 

scientific

 

congresses

 

by

 

Astra

 

Zeneca

and

 

Lundbeck.

 

T.

 

Wobrock

 

was

 

a

 

member

 

of

 

a

 

speaker

 

bureau

for

 

Alpine

 

Biomed,

 

AstraZeneca,

 

Eli

 

Lilly,

 

Essex,

 

Janssen

 

Cilag;

has

 

accepted

 

paid

 

speaking

 

engagements

 

in

 

industry-spon-

sored

 

symposia

 

from

 

Alpine

 

Biomed,

 

AstraZeneca,

 

Bristol

Myers

 

Squibb,

 

Eli

 

Lilly,

 

Janssen

 

Cilag,

 

Lundbeck,

 

Sanofi-Aventis

Drug

 

Discovery

 

Today:

 

Therapeutic

 

Strategies

 

|

 

Treatment

 

of

 

schizophrenia

 

Vol.

 

8,

 

No.

 

1–2

 

2011

34

 

www.drugdiscoverytoday.com

background image

and

 

Pfizer,

 

and

 

travel

 

or

 

hospitality

 

not

 

related

 

to

 

a

 

speaking

engagement

 

from

 

AstraZeneca,

 

Bristol-Myers-Squibb,

 

Eli

 

Lilly,

Janssen

 

Cilag,

 

and

 

Sanofi-Synthelabo;

 

and

 

has

 

received

 

a

research

 

grant

 

from

 

AstraZeneca.

 

D.

 

Reich-Erkelenz

 

reports

no

 

conflicts

 

of

 

interest.

 

P.

 

Falkai

 

was

 

honorary

 

speaker

 

for

Janssen-Cilag,

 

Astra-Zeneca,

 

Lilly,

 

BMS,

 

Lundbeck,

 

Pfizer,

 

Bayer

Vital,

 

SKB,

 

Wyeth,

 

Essex

 

and

 

during

 

the

 

last

 

two

 

years,

 

but

 

not

presently,

 

he

 

was

 

member

 

of

 

the

 

advisory

 

boards

 

of

 

Janssen-

Cilag,

 

Astra-Zeneca,

 

Lilly

 

and

 

Lundbeck.

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Vol.

 

8,

 

No.

 

1–2

 

2011

 

Drug

 

Discovery

 

Today:

 

Therapeutic

 

Strategies

 

|

 

Treatment

 

of

 

schizophrenia

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