Can the Sigma-1 Receptor Agonist Fluvoxamine Prevent Schizophrenia?

Kenji      Hashimoto

Abstract

In the past decade there has been increasing interest in the potential benefit of early pharmacological intervention in schizophrenia. Patients with schizophrenia show nonpsychotic and nonspecific prodromal symptoms (e.g., depression and cognitive deficits) for several years preceding the onset of frank psychosis. Several studies have demonstrated that medication with atypical antipsychotic drugs in people with prodromal symptoms may reduce the risk of subsequent transition to schizophrenia. Furthermore, a naturalistic treatment study in young people with prodromal symptoms demonstrated that medication with antidepressants could prevent the development of psychosis. Although the sample in this study was small, the results were striking. Some antidepressants, including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), had high to moderate affinities at the endoplasmic reticulum protein sigma-1 receptors, which are implicated in neuroprotection and neuronal plasticity. Among all antidepressants, fluvoxamine was the most potent sigma- 1 receptor agonist since the effects of fluvoxamine were antagonized by the selective sigma-1 receptor antagonist NE-100. Based on the role of sigma-1 receptors in the pathophysiology of cognition and depression, the author would like to propose a hypothesis that SSRIs (e.g., fluvoxamine) with sigma-1 receptor agonism may reduce the risk of subsequent transition to schizophrenia.

Keywords: Schizophrenia, sigma-1 receptor, prodromal, ultra high-risk, neuroprotection, neuronal plasticity

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