(TheConservativeTimes.org) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration just approved the first new drug to treat Schizophrenia in over three decades.
Cobenfy is the drug, which is manufactured by Bristol Myers Squibb, and it combines two different drugs called xanomeline and trospium chloride. In the trials, this combination helped to manage symptoms like delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized thinking, which are extremely common with Schizophrenia.
“Schizophrenia is a leading cause of disability worldwide. It is a severe, chronic mental illness that is often damaging to a person’s quality of life,” said the Director of the Division of Psychiatry, Tiffany Fachione.
”This drug takes the first new approach to schizophrenia treatment in decades.” She added, “This approval offers a new alternative to the antipsychotic medications people with schizophrenia have previously been prescribed.”
The drug provides new hope for people with Schizophrenia by providing an innovative treatment option that could change how it is managed.
The first drugs for Schizophrenia were called Chlorpromazine and Haloperidol and were introduced in the fifties. They revolutionized the treatment of the disease, but this new drug is the newest innovation for Schizophrenia medicine in over thirty years as there haven’t been many medications since then.
Many Schizophrenia medications work by changing dopamine levels, but Cobenfy adjusts acetylcholine, which is a brain chemical that aids in attention, learning, and memory.
Because of what this drug targets, Cobenfy may be able to reduce Schizophrenia symptoms while avoiding the common side effects like drowsiness, weight gain, and even movement disorders.
The most common side effects noticed with this new drug are indigestion, nausea, vomiting, constipation, diarrhea, dizziness, and hypertension, according to the FDA.
“It may prove advantageous to those who don’t tolerate what has been available,” says Dr. Leslie Citrome, a clinical professor of psychiatry and expert in psychopharmacology at New York Medical College.
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