Oxidative stress and therapeutic implications in psychiatric disorders

Increasing evidence indicates that disturbances of antioxidant defense system and presence of oxidative stress can play a part in a wide range of neuropsychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression, as well as antipsychotic-induced tardive dyskinesia (TD). Moreover, researchers have embarked on using antioxidant treatment as adjunct therapy for psychiatry disorders. Evidence from clinical, pre-clinical and epidemiological studies suggests that a benefit of using antioxidant compounds should be considered as an adjunctive therapy in these patients. These are some of the main perspectives that are reviewed by four articles in this special section. Overall, there has been growing recognition of the importance of oxidative stress in the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders and the development of TD. The collection of articles in this special section will contribute to providing more efficacious treatments arising from a better appreciation of the roles of oxidative stress in these psychiatric disorders.