Schizophrenia - advances in drug therapy

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Abstract
It has become increasingly clear that classical drug treatments for schizophrenia, while valuable for many patients, are far from optimal. Not only do they induce unpleasant side-effects, but they are also limited in their antipsychotic efficacy in a substantial proportion of patients. Using the uniquely effective but pharmacologically complex drug, clozapine, as a model, a variety of receptors in addition to the dopamine D2 site have been identified as targets for drug development; the 5-HT2A site has received the greatest interest in this respect. Several new drugs in development as antipsychotics have pharmacological effects at 5-HT2 and other clozapine-sensitive receptors; the receptor mechanisms underlying both the antipsychotic efficacy and limitations of these compounds are reviewed here, as are some other potential drug therapies that do not share clozapine's receptor pharmacology.