Australian researchers are to trial raloxifene, now used in cancer and osteoporosis, for schizophrenia treatment.
Australian researchers are to trial raloxifene, now used in osteoporosis and cancer, for schizophrenia treatment.
The three-year clinical drug trial follows the discovery that in schizophrenics a brain receptor that normally stimulates growth in adolescence is disabled.Professor Cyndi Shannon Weickert, who holds Australia’s first Chair of Schizophrenia Research, said, “We now know that this brain receptor doesn’t work in the normal way for people with schizophrenia.
“With this drug trial, we can begin to stimulate it and try and get the neurodevelopmental program back on track.
For some patients we could see improvements in language and memory,” says Professor Shannon Weickert.
Her position is a joint initiative of UNSW, the Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute and the Schizophrenia Research Institute.
Her team’s findings are published in Human Molecular Genetics.
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Raloxifene is a hormonal modulator that stimulates the oestrogen receptor in the brain. It does not simulate the oestrogen receptor in other parts of the body.
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Estrogen can cause side effects like vaginal bleeding and breast tenderness. It can also increase the risk of breast or uterine cancer. Raloxifene doesn’t have these same side effects. In addition, raloxifene also lowers total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (also known as “bad” cholesterol) but won’t raise high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (also known as “good” cholesterol). Raloxifene is being tested to see if it lowers the risk of heart disease and breast cancer.
Source-Medindia
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