Top-line results show a disappointing placebo effect that resulted in Sumitomo Pharma Co. Ltd./Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.’s ulotaront (SEP-363856) missing the primary endpoints in both the Diamond (Developing Innovative Approaches for Mental Disorders) 1 and Diamond 2 trials in schizophrenia.
Schizophrenia (SCZ) could be associated with genetic alterations that can appear at the beginning of life. Such somatic variants in the NRXN1 and ABCB11 genes could lead to SCZ, according to researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital.
Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. has gone back on efforts to get its medicine, Asimtufii (aripiprazole), a long-acting maintenance treatment for schizophrenia, approved in Europe, after the EMA gave a provisional negative opinion.
Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. has gone back on efforts to get its medicine, Asimtufii (aripiprazole), a long-acting maintenance treatment for schizophrenia, approved in Europe, after the EMA gave a provisional negative opinion.
Mixed phase III study results have Bioxcel Therapeutics Inc. moving ahead to complete the clinical trial while withstanding a hammering from investors. BXCL-501 (dexmedetomidine), a sublingual film being developed to treat bipolar disorders- or schizophrenia-associated agitation, produced clinically meaningful efficacy results in part 1 of the pivotal study with half of the approved dose, but the primary efficacy endpoint was not statistically significant at two hours (p=0.077). BXCL-501 separated from placebo at four hours (p=0.049).
By analyzing gene expression patterns in the placenta of nearly 150 pregnancies and comparing them to fetal gene expression in the brain, researchers from the Lieber Institute for Brain Development have gained new insights into the importance of placental tissue in setting the risk trajectory for the development of schizophrenia. The work was published in Nature Communications on May 15, 2023.
The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, the research arm of Northwell Health, landed a $3.4 million grant from the Wellcome Trust to evaluate the use of transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) for schizophrenia. Feinstein will undertake a five-year, double-blind, randomized trial to see whether rTMS improves cognitive or other symptoms of schizophrenia. The technology currently has FDA approval for use in individuals with depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
RNA editing in schizophrenia (SCZ)-associated genes was decreased in postmortem brains of individuals of European descent, according to a study from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). The scientists obtained the RNA editome from SCZ brains to detect the sequence changes in their RNA and observed hypoediting in noncoding regions related to mitochondrial function, such as the mitofusin-1 (MFN1) gene.
Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences and Shanghaitech University have identified dopamine D2 receptor and/or 5-HT receptor agonists reported to be useful for the treatment of depression and schizophrenia.
