Novel Therapies for Schizophrenia: Beyond Dopamine

Dear Colleagues,

Schizophrenia is a common multigenic and debilitating neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by chronic psychotic symptoms, psychosocial impairment, cognitive deterioration, and poor insight or anosognosia. Genetics, the environment, hormones, and cytokines “conspire” together to engender a unique pathology that has puzzled clinicians and researchers for more than a century. Uncertain pathogenesis, nonspecific medications, and variable prognosis have hindered the outcome of this disorder, contributing to a sustained recovery of less than 20% of patients and the continued existence of large public institutions for the treatment of mental illness, such as state hospitals. Indeed, more than seven decades after the discovery of first dopamine blockers, 33% of schizophrenia patients relapse during the first 12 months after an initial psychotic episode, 26% remain homeless at 2 years follow up, while 5 years after the first psychotic outbreak, only 10% are employed. Recovery at 15 and 25 years follow up is marginally better, at 16%; however, only 13.5% of patients meet the recovery criteria at any point in time after the first psychotic episode. Today, despite the poor outcome, patients with chronic schizophrenia live longer and develop neurocognitive disorders earlier than the general population, increasing medical complications and healthcare expenditures.

This Special Issue aims to collect hypotheses, original and review articles on recent advances in the pathogenesis, etiology, diagnosis, and therapy of schizophrenia. Pure clinical studies are out of the scope of this Special Issue; however, clinical submissions with biomolecular experiments are welcome.

Dr. Adonis Sfera
Guest Editor

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