A Review on Emerging Drug Targets in Treatment of Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a multifactorial, highly complex behavioral and cognitive disorder caused by disruptions of neurotransmitters in the brain, consequently affecting its functioning. The disorder is known to affect approximately 1% of the adult population worldwide. Antipsychotics used in the treatment have considerable drawbacks as they primarily aim to alleviate the positive symptoms of different aspects of the disorder and fail to treat the negative and cognitive symptoms. Considering the poor functional outcome of conventional antipsychotic therapy, the recent development of effective targets is of clinical importance. In this review, we summarize perspective on recent approaches and advances on schizophrenia. New therapeutically potential compounds for the treatment of schizophrenia act on metabotropic glutamate receptor, Matrix metalloproteinase, endocannabinoid receptor, nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, muscarinic acetylcholine cholinergic receptor and Dynorphin /Kappa Opioid receptor systems. This review explores the functions of different receptors other than dopaminergic systems to treat and manage schizophrenia effectively. The article would provide readers guidance on newer targets related to schizophrenia.