Scott explores the theory that clozapine's unique effectiveness in treating schizophrenia may be due to its combined action on dopamine and glutamate systems, potentially opening avenues for safer treatments.
Longer summary
This post explores why clozapine is considered uniquely effective among antipsychotic drugs for treating schizophrenia. Scott discusses recent research suggesting clozapine's superiority may be due to its action on the glutamate system, specifically as an NMDA receptor agonist, in addition to its dopamine-blocking effects. He explains that adding NMDA modulators to other antipsychotics improves their efficacy, but not when added to clozapine, possibly because clozapine already has this effect. The post speculates that if this theory is correct, it could lead to safer treatments combining standard antipsychotics with NMDA agonists, avoiding clozapine's serious side effects. However, Scott notes that more research is needed to confirm this hypothesis and overcome regulatory hurdles.
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