Skip to content
2000
Volume 9, Issue 6
  • ISSN: 1573-4064
  • E-ISSN: 1875-6638

Abstract

The pathophysiology of schizophrenia has not been fully elucidated but there are converging leads to understanding this complex psychiatric disorder. One family of molecules that may play a crucial role in the development of schizophrenia is the eicosanoids. Review of the literature on eicosanoids in patients with schizophrenia points to findings in three areas: precursor molecules such as polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and specifically arachidonic acid (AA), the actions of specific eicosanoids such as thromboxane A2 (TxA2), thromboxane B2 (TxB2) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), and enzymes with important functions in eicosanoid metabolism such as cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2). It has also been found that classical as well as second generation antipsychotics, drugs used to treat schizophrenia, influence eicosanoid metabolism. For example, clozapine and its metabolite N-desmethylclozapine (NDMC) decreased TxB2 production in vitro. Eicosanoids and the enzymes involved in their metabolism may provide novel future drug targets. Therapeutic response to COX-2 inhibitors has already been demonstrated in patients at an early stage of schizophrenia. COX-2 inhibitors may exert this therapeutic action through their effects in reducing PGE2, type-2 cytokine and kynurenic acid production and strengthening glutamatergic neurotransmission.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/mc/10.2174/1573406411309060002
2013-09-01
2025-06-09
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/content/journals/mc/10.2174/1573406411309060002
Loading

  • Article Type:
    Research Article
Keyword(s): antipsychotics; Schizophrenia; thromboxane A2; thromboxane B2
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error
Please enter a valid_number test