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Medicine

America's FDA Approves First New Drug for Schizophrenia in Over 30 Years (go.com) 65

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."
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America's FDA Approves First New Drug for Schizophrenia in Over 30 Years

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  • by Baron_Yam ( 643147 ) on Sunday September 29, 2024 @10:39AM (#64826255)

    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.

    • by necro81 ( 917438 )

      people with weird ticks talking to themselves scare the crap out of me

      And with lots of folks wearing not-obvious earbuds, I increasingly get the feeling that I'm surrounded by schizos!

  • The list price is about 22 500$ a year. And it is taken twice a day.
    • Re:Price (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Morpeth ( 577066 ) on Sunday September 29, 2024 @11:04AM (#64826301)

      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.

      • 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.

        • by kackle ( 910159 )
          Yes, but knowing the US, some would complain that we're (those paying the taxes) not also paying for, say, the weight-loss drug Wegovy, which could cure even more decreased productivity. Then, after all drugs are made "free", even more people would be crossing our borders for complimentary medical treatments. Why wouldn't they? If we fix the borders then we can consider freeing up healthcare.
          • by necro81 ( 917438 )

            Yes, but knowing the US, some would complain that we're (those paying the taxes) not also paying for, say, the weight-loss drug Wegovy

            Knowing the US, the argument from taxpayers or legislators would be more along the lines of "I don't want my tax money spent on those people!", with the implicit message being that "those people" are undeserving. Never mind that taxpayers (and society in general) already spend a lot more than that in other ways ($50-100k/yr to incarcerate someone, $40-80k/yr for renal dial

            • by kackle ( 910159 )
              And I'd agree with them. "Those people" are not Americans; shouldn't American's money be spent on, I don't know, Americans? If folks want to donate to causes themselves, they can do so...we're already quite charitable. But the tax gun is often waved around willy-nilly here. When it comes to free will, even Jesus didn't say 'Pick up your swords, let's make everyone worship and pay.'
              • by necro81 ( 917438 )

                And I'd agree with them. "Those people" are not Americans; shouldn't American's money be spent on, I don't know, Americans?

                Sorry, we were talking about medications for schizophrenia and obesity. Are you suggestion those don't exist among Americans?

                • by kackle ( 910159 )
                  I apologize, we were juggling two topics and I went one way and you went the other. I said that we would have an infinite number of non-American people lining up at our borders to get medicines, if we made medicines for no cost. Since we seem to have trouble controlling our borders right now, that's a big reason why I don't think medicines should be made free for "everyone" who requests them.
          • by bn-7bc ( 909819 )
            possibly, but yiou forget one important thing, all the people already in the US would benefit, including the taxpayers, hen they actually need medication. Illegal immigration is not a strong argument against not maging drugs affordable/free, if legal Immigration is a big problem put feasible informant in place, including ofc leagal routs for qualified people, and don't forget refugees from war and oppression
    • Don’t worry. You’ll be able to fill the prescription in Canada or Mexico for $19.95.

    • 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.

      • If Lithium worked better they'd add some time release mechanism or combine it with some other drug in a single pill and bam, new patented drug they can gouge the US for a fraction of the price of finding a whole new one. Standard operating procedure for making obscene profits from drugs that should be cheap.
      • 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.

        Lithium works well for many people, which is why it's one of the oldest drugs. But - it doesn't work well enough for everybody, and it can have nasty side effects.

        We don't know why some meds work for some people and not for others. For most psychiatric illnesses, the state of our knowledge is probably around where our knowledge of TB was before we understood bacteria.

      • by necro81 ( 917438 )

        Hell, Lithium alone probably works better but you'll never get a trial to prove it.

        I thought lithium was largely for stabilizing mood swings, like in bipolar. I know the overlap between bipolar and schizophrenia is substantial, but I don't know of evidence that lithium is a good first-line drug for schizophrenia alone. It's been around a long time - longer than antipsychotics - so I expect that if it had benefit, we would know about it.

    • The dollar sign is placed before the number and we use commas to separate multiples of the base.
  • by theshowmecanuck ( 703852 ) on Sunday September 29, 2024 @12:06PM (#64826413) Journal
    I'm of two minds about this.
  • 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 suspect if that was a possibility, they'd have figured it out by now.

      Regardless, Muscarine is super dangerous, and the last person I'd be trusting to dose themselves with something whos medical and toxic levels are so close would be someone with a medically broken grasp on reality. It'd never pass the FDA, not because of any spooky pharma $$$ thing, but because the FDA is not in the habit of permitting actual poisons as medicines

      • by vbdasc ( 146051 )

        Yes, you are probably right. However, one of the new drug's components, Trospium, seems to be a specific antidote for Muscarine. Plus, it apparently can't enter the brain, so it won't interfere with Muscarine's therapeutic action. And the best thing is that it's an old drug with expired patent, so it can be generic and cheap. So, just use shrooms with Trospium and S is gone /s

  • by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 29, 2024 @01:08PM (#64826567)
    That no one commenting here knows anything about the realities of schizophrenia.
    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 ... condition.

    Any hope of a drug that could help is welcome to anyone who live with these realities.
    • That no one commenting here knows anything about the realities of schizophrenia. 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 ... condition. Any hope of a drug that could help is welcome to anyone who live with these realities.

      Amen.

    • Well said.

      Would you make cheap jokes about cancer? If not, then maybe think twice about mental illness.

      • by necro81 ( 917438 )

        Would you make cheap jokes about cancer?

        I mean...are they funny jokes? Sometimes, when confronting something as devastating and implacable as cancer (or schizophrenia) - comedy can be pretty damn useful.

        • Would you make cheap jokes about cancer?

          I mean...are they funny jokes? Sometimes, when confronting something as devastating and implacable as cancer (or schizophrenia) - comedy can be pretty damn useful.

          Agreed. But before making the joke about mental illness, think of whether you would make the same joke about cancer.

          And don't make the joke if you are not coming from a place of love and support. (See original post).

  • The voices in my head approve of this

  • I read where a schizophrenic was cured by anti-fungal medication. It makes sense; if the brain is being attacked/damaged by something, removing the threat might correct certain neuroses.
    • While researching celiac disease for my celiac wife, I also came across research pointing to eliminating casein (dairy protein) and gluten having benefits. As neither she nor I have schizophrenia, I couldn't say, but it is an interesting idea. My research was ~30 years ago. JAMA has a more recent study saying that 10 days of a gluten free diet didn't make a difference, but that it's possible a longer time period would show some benefit. Again, I cannot speak for schizophrenia but I do know when she went
      • by kackle ( 910159 )
        I have also seen significant results from a strict, anti-inflammatory diet in a close friend of mine. He was meticulous about it and impressed his Mayo clinic doctors who were of little help.
        • This doesn't surprise me really, given how my wife does things like take the probiotic florastor, which seriously cuts her inflammation even though she's meticulously gluten free. That's awesome for your friend! And thanks for the info.
  • The go to drug ( clozapine) has been around for 80 years and has some major side effects, most noticeably nuking a patients WBC count.

  • Cobenfy takes a different approach by adjusting acetylcholine, another brain chemical that aids memory, learning and attention

    Does it improve or diminish "memory, learning and attention" in normal people? If it improves those qualities, what can it do for those of us with moderate ADD or will normies start taking it to get smart?

  • Schizophrenia meds haven’t seen a major update in decades. My cousin has been on antipsychotics for a while and the side effects have been tough, especially the weight gain and drowsiness. If this new drug really reduces those issues, it could change lives. I remember how frustrated he got when he had to switch medications constantly. It's tough to see someone go through that. On a side note, when I was working on my dissertation about mental health treatments, I found a dissertation writer [edubirdie.com] to help me

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