Daring to think differently about schizophrenia
February 25th, 2008It’s the tale of what’s being called a breakthrough in neuroscience: a potential new drug to reduce symptoms of schizophrenia. Instead of going the traditional route and relying on the neurotransmitter dopamine, research at Eli Lilly & Company focuses instead on glutamate.
The Lilly results have fueled a wave of pharmaceutical industry research into glutamate. Companies are searching for new treatments, not just for schizophrenia, but also for depression and Alzheimer’s disease and other unseen demons of the brain that torment tens of millions of people worldwide.
Driving the industry’s interest is the huge market for drugs for brain and psychiatric diseases. Worldwide sales total almost $50 billion annually, even though existing medicines have moderate efficacy and have side effects that range from reduced libido to diabetes.

