Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Psychiatr. Jul 19, 2021; 11(7): 277-296
Published online Jul 19, 2021. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v11.i7.277
Novel approaches in schizophrenia-from risk factors and hypotheses to novel drug targets
Matej Ľupták, Danica Michaličková, Zdeněk Fišar, Eva Kitzlerová, Jana Hroudová
Matej Ľupták, Danica Michaličková, Jana Hroudová, Institute of Pharmacology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University and General University Hospital in Prague, Prague 12800, Czech Republic
Zdeněk Fišar, Eva Kitzlerová, Jana Hroudová, Department of Psychiatry, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University and General University Hospital in Prague, Prague 12000, Czech Republic
Author contributions: Ľupták M wrote a part of MS regarding genetics, stress and triggers of schizophrenia; Fišar Z wrote current hypotheses of schizophrenia; Michaličková D wrote immunologic processes in schizophrenia; Hroudová J wrote novel strategies for treatment of schizophrenia and completed the MS; all authors approved the final version.
Supported by the Projects Progres of Charles University, No. Q25/LF1 and No. Q27/LF1; the Grant Agency of Charles University, Czech Republic, No. 34119; and the Project Ministry of Health, Czech Republic for Conceptual Development of Research Organization, No. 64165.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Authors declare that there is no conflict of interest regarding the publication of this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Jana Hroudová, MD, PharmD, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University and General University Hospital in Prague, Albertov 4, Prague 12000, Czech Republic. hroudova.jana@gmail.com
Received: February 27, 2021
Peer-review started: February 27, 2021
First decision: March 30, 2021
Revised: April 6, 2021
Accepted: June 18, 2021
Article in press: June 18, 2021
Published online: July 19, 2021
Processing time: 138 Days and 2.9 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: This review discusses the newest insights in the pathophysiology and risk factors for schizophrenia and points out the novel approaches of antipsychotic treatment, potential diagnostic and theranostic biomarkers. The hypotheses focusing on neuromediators (dopamine, glutamate, serotonin), neuroinflammation, cannabinoid hypothesis, gut brain axis model, and other currently discussed hypotheses are summarized. Key genetic features and new findings in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia support the expansion of novel approaches in pharmacotherapy and development of non-dopaminergic antipsychotics.