America's FDA Approves First New Drug for Schizophrenia in Over 30 Years (go.com) 22
Thursday America's Food and Drug Administration approved Cobenfy, "the first new drug to treat people with schizophrenia in more than 30 years," reports ABC News:
Most schizophrenia medications, broadly known as antipsychotics, work by changing dopamine levels, a brain chemical that affects mood, motivation, and thinking [according to Jelena Kunovac, MD, a board-certified psychiatrist and adjunct assistant professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in the Department of Psychiatry]. Cobenfy takes a different approach by adjusting acetylcholine, another brain chemical that aids memory, learning and attention, she said. By focusing on acetylcholine instead of dopamine, Cobenfy may reduce schizophrenia symptoms while avoiding common side effects like weight gain, drowsiness and movement disorders, clinical trials suggest. These side effects often become so severe and unpleasant that, in some studies mirroring real-world challenges, many patients stopped treatment within 18 months of starting it.
In clinical trials, only 6% of patients stopped taking Cobenfy due to side effects, noted Dr. Samit Hirawat, chief medical officer at Bristol Myers Squibb. "That's a significant improvement over the 20-30% seen with older antipsychotic drugs," he added...
Schizophrenia is a mental health disorder that affects about 24 million people worldwide, or roughly one in 300 people, according to the World Health Organization.
"Studies for additional therapeutic uses, including the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and bipolar disorder, are also underway."
In clinical trials, only 6% of patients stopped taking Cobenfy due to side effects, noted Dr. Samit Hirawat, chief medical officer at Bristol Myers Squibb. "That's a significant improvement over the 20-30% seen with older antipsychotic drugs," he added...
Schizophrenia is a mental health disorder that affects about 24 million people worldwide, or roughly one in 300 people, according to the World Health Organization.
"Studies for additional therapeutic uses, including the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and bipolar disorder, are also underway."
Schizophrenia drugs amaze me (Score:3)
How a drug can control symptoms that very much appear to be a failure of hemisphere coordination, I don't know. But it's nice for schizophrenics to have another option to try that might not leave them like zombies.
And as a member of the public, I really like NOT having people around who can't tell the difference between reality and their imaginations. I know the vast majority of them aren't dangerous... but I can't tell from simple short term observation so people with weird ticks talking to themselves scare the crap out of me (unless it's obviously Tourette's). I've had a couple of experiences with afflicted individuals that were not of the benign variety.
Re: (Score:1, Flamebait)
Fundamentals of the DSM (Score:3)
The whole field of psychology, as it exists today, is a pseudoscience and the DSM is complete BS. DSM just lumps together a bunch of behaviors together and calls them some mental "disorder." Go to two different psychologists and you'll get two different diagnoses.
This was a criticism of the original DSM; specifically, that two doctors seeing one patient would disagree on the diagnosis. Newer versions have attempted to correct this problem.
I'm not sure you can state that psychology is a pseudoscience. You start with the definition of a pathology, which states in essence that the condition is so severe as to prevent a person from proper functioning in life. For example, everyone gets angry now and then, it's considered normal. If you get angry all the time and it prev
Non-political post (Score:2)
And as a member of the public, I really like NOT having people around who can't tell the difference between reality and their imaginations. I know the vast majority of them aren't dangerous... but I can't tell from simple short term observation so people with weird ticks talking to themselves scare the crap out of me (unless it's obviously Tourette's). I've had a couple of experiences with afflicted individuals that were not of the benign variety.
I'd like to make an attempt to put this discussion into a non-political frame.
One of the symptoms of schizophrenia is delusions, which is a fixed belief that doesn't change in light of countervailing evidence.
This can be used for all sorts of pot-shots against one political side or the other, but I'd like to point out that there's a specific difference here.
On the one side, someone can simply be misinformed. This is not a delusion, it's considered normal, and you see it everywhere on both sides of the polit
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There is a fine line between genius and insanity.
Price (Score:1)
Re:Price (Score:4, Insightful)
That's a lot, BUT, the public cost for someone with uncontrolled schizophrenia can be much higher -- homelessness, crime (or being a victim of crime) and potential incarceration sadly, time in courts, social service involvement, lost work and productivity (many with the disorder can indeed work). I'm not dismissing that it's not cheap, but IF it works and alleviates a lot of other issues, it's actually cheaper.
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This is also a good argument for making these drugs free to the end user, and paid for by tax money. It's an investment that would save tax payer money by reducing other public costs.
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Why bother spending a billion dollars to invent a new drug if you can't make a reasonable profit on it?
It sounds like $19.95 is at least the reasonable profit price point. Or the drug makers would just tell the likes of Canada, Mexico, the EU and others that this drug is not available there. You don't expect them to sell for a loss, do you?
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Don’t worry. You’ll be able to fill the prescription in Canada or Mexico for $19.95.
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That's all that matters really, cheap drugs don't get tested.
Hell, Lithium alone probably works better but you'll never get a trial to prove it.
Are you feeling OK? (Score:2)
I Have to Admit (Score:4, Funny)
A question (Score:2)
This drug seems to work through simulating the effects of Muscarine, which is an alkaloid found in some mushrooms, notably the fly agaric, which is known to have some psychedelic properties (Caribou deer are known to actively search for these shrooms and ingest them, and get high in the process; some natives collect Caribou urine and get high in turn by drinking it).
The question is: Can Schizophrenia be treated by eating these shrooms instead of giving $$$$$ to the pharma industry?
I can tell from reading the comments so far... (Score:2, Insightful)
I've dealt with 2 family members with schizophenia in different generations.
None of this is a laughing matter. Lives and familes are destroyed by this
Any hope of a drug that could help is welcome to anyone who live with these realities.