Finding a druggable target for schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a devastating brain disease that affects ∼1% of the population worldwide and is characterized by a complex array of positive (delusions and hallucinations), negative (apathy and social withdrawal), and cognitive (deficits in attention and working memory) symptoms. Clinical features of schizophrenia frequently arise during late adolescence or early adulthood, which places this disease as the most chronic of the psychotic disorders and as one of the leading causes of disability and premature mortality (1). Increasing evidence suggests that cognitive impairment is at the core of schizophrenia and precedes the manifestation of psychosis (2). Furthermore, no pharmacological treatment is currently available for cognitive deficits, which are among the most debilitating symptoms of the disorder. The identification of novel treatments to ameliorate the cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia thus seems crucial to improve the quality of life in these patients.