Final Report Summary - MUTRIPS (Mechanisms Underlying Treatment Responses in Psychosis)
One in every 100 people will develop schizophrenia. Only 10 per cent achieve complete remission: despite a significant investment in both pharmacological and psychosocial treatment over the last 40 years, 20 to 45 per cent of patients continue to experience significant 'positive' symptoms (hallucinations and delusions) despite optimal antipsychotic treatment.
Cognitive control is also impaired in schizophrenia: patients exhibit difficulties across a range of tasks, including planning, learning and social interaction. Cognitive dysfunction in psychosis is largely unresponsive to conventional antipsychotic treatment.
The project demonstrated that cognitive dysfunction lies at the heart of schizophrenia and is instrumental in sustaining both cognitive but also positive symptoms in treatment-resistant patients. These poorly responsive patients may have a different pathoaetiology compared to those that respond to current treatments - based on a greater dysregulation of the glutamatergic rather than the dopaminergic systems.
Cognitive control is also impaired in schizophrenia: patients exhibit difficulties across a range of tasks, including planning, learning and social interaction. Cognitive dysfunction in psychosis is largely unresponsive to conventional antipsychotic treatment.
The project demonstrated that cognitive dysfunction lies at the heart of schizophrenia and is instrumental in sustaining both cognitive but also positive symptoms in treatment-resistant patients. These poorly responsive patients may have a different pathoaetiology compared to those that respond to current treatments - based on a greater dysregulation of the glutamatergic rather than the dopaminergic systems.