Finding new treatments for schizophrenia

You might have watched our video on what it's like to live with schizophrenia: this extended episode explains how research is helping find new drugs that can treat the disease without the distressing side effects.

Schizophrenia affects more than 21 million people worldwide, according to the World Health Organisation. Sufferers experience delusions, hallucinations, cognitive issues leading to problems in decision-making in daily life, loss of self-esteem and withdrawal from society.

Current treatment focuses on antipsychotic drugs, but the drugs used to treat schizophrenia have changed little in the last 50 years.

Autifony Therapeutics has been working for several years to develop a new drug, which could treat #schizophrenia with fewer side effects.

Autifony’s drug AUT00206 targets neurons in the brain that are important for cognitive function. Studies have shown that the ability of these neurons to regulate brain activity is degraded in people with schizophrenia.

Chief Executive Dr Charles Large says: “If our drug does prove effective it could be revolutionary. It would enable patients to get back to a level of functioning potentially compatible with holding down a job and living independently. From what we have seen already, we anticipate that this would be with relatively low side-effects.”

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[amboursurendranath]

My son is suffering from schizophrenia for the past eighteen years. He is very violent. He beats me and his mother. He is having both positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia. We are very desperate. Please save us.

[itsliljojoe]

my 17 year old has this horrible illness