Brain blood vessel discovery could aid schizophrenia treatment

Irish scientists say they have discovered characteristics of the brain that may lead to new treatments for schizophrenia.

Scientists from Trinity College Dublin and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland conducted research on the blood-brain barrier (BBB) of mice — the network of blood vessels that regulates the transport of energy and materials in and out of the brain.

They found that abnormalities in the integrity of the BBB may be a critical component in the development of schizophrenia and other brain disorders.

Researchers screened postmortem brain samples from the Stanley Medical Research Institute as part of their study.

Their research is published today in the international journal Molecular Psychiatry.

“Together, these data suggest that BBB disruption may be a modifying factor in the development of schizophrenia and that drugs directly targeting the BBB may offer new therapeutic opportunities for treating this disorder,” states the article.

The researchers state that at present schizophrenia is almost exclusively treated by anti-psychotic drugs, but that these “are often discontinued by patients due to inefficacy or intolerable side effects”.

“There is now a clear and urgent need to better understand the underlying molecular aetiology of schizophrenia and to develop new forms of therapy for this debilitating condition,” states the article.

“Recognising that schizophrenia is a disorder with a cerebral vascular component will impact the way this condition is treated and lead to improved medicines for patients living with the condition.

“These findings will also lead to a greater understanding of other neuropsychiatric conditions such as bipolar disorder and affective disorders.”

Dr Matthew Campbell, assistant professor in neurovascular genetics at Trinity, said their findings are the first to suggest that schizophrenia is a brain disorder associated with abnormalities of brain blood vessels.

“The concept of tailoring drugs to regulate and treat abnormal brain blood vessels is a novel treatment strategy and offers great potential to complement existing treatments of this debilitating disease,” he said.