Recent Advances in Potential Therapeutic Drugs for Cognitive Impairment in Schizophrenia

Cognitive impairment in patients with schizophrenia occurs in the prodromal phase and usually persists, even when psychotic symptoms have been successfully treated. There is a direct relationship between the level of cognitive impairment and functional outcome in schizophrenia, making these symptoms a new, potential therapeutic target. Although atypical antipsychotic drugs improve several domains of cognitive function, even when psychotic symptoms have been successfully treated, many patients, do not recover their cognitive impairment, resulting in a failure to reintegrate into society. Therefore, the development of new therapeutic drugs for cognitive impairment remains an imperative. In this review article, we discuss the merits of potential therapeutic drugs such as glycine transporter (GlyT-1) inhibitors, 5-HT1A receptor agonists, α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonists, sigma-1 receptor agonists, minocycline and cilostazol.