New Class of Medication Offers Innovative Treatment for Schizophrenia Symptoms

While on-site at Psych Congress 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts, Desiree Matthews, PMHNP-BC, CEO, discussed a novel medication approved for treating schizophrenia in adults that offers a fresh approach without blocking dopamine receptors. Matthews shares the potential of this M1/M4 activator to minimize harmful side effects while effectively managing symptoms.

Watch now to learn how this new treatment could reshape the landscape of care for adults living with schizophrenia.

For more exclusive insights straight from the sessions at from Psych Congress 2024, visit the newsroom here on Psych Congress Network.

Read the transcript:

Desiree Matthews, CEO, PMHNP-BC: Hi, my name is Desiree Matthews and I'm a board-certified psychiatric nurse practitioner and the owner of Different MHP, a telepsychiatry company based out of North Carolina.

One of the most exciting things that we have heard this year, in terms of schizophrenia research, is the recent approval in September of a new class of medication, an M1/M4 activator. This is a combination of xanomeline and trospium chloride. This medication is approved for adults living with schizophrenia, and it represents a new opportunity to treat our adult patients living with schizophrenia to help reduce their symptoms without blocking dopamine receptors.

This is really important because over my 8 years in clinical practice working with individuals living with schizophrenia, some people responded very well to our D2 blocking medications. Many of my patients have struggled with side effects, and there have been some patients who didn't really respond well to any D2 blocker. So, It's really important in psychiatry that we have multiple tools available.

This particular tool, this M1/M4 activator, or agonist, works on the muscarinic receptors. So, we can actually reduce dopamine presynaptically in the brain without blocking dopamine. 

Historically, we just blocked dopamine, and these blocking dopamine would be all over, and this would cause casualties in terms of side effects like movement disorder, we may see weight gain, we can see worsening of negative symptoms and cognitive symptoms in schizophrenia. But, by modulating these muscarinic receptors, we do so in reduced dopamine presynaptically, and we do this in the striatum. We don't reduce dopamine in the prefrontal cortex. So, this can really represent a new way of thinking about treating a presynaptic problem.

That's too much dopamine being released into the stratum with a presynaptic solution. It does come with side effects such as nausea, upset stomach, diarrhea, and some anticholinergic effects, but it is a different side effect profile. Some individuals may tolerate a treatment like this versus a D2 blocker. It gives us more options to offer our patients living with schizophrenia and it offers hope.

Desiree Matthews, PMHNP-BC, is a board certified psychiatric nurse practitioner with expertise in treating patients living with severe mental illness. Beyond clinical practice, Matthews has provided leadership in advocating for optimal outcomes of patients and elevating healthcare provider education. She is the founder and owner of Different MHP, a telepsychiatry practice founded with the mission of providing affordable, accessible precision-focused, integrative psychiatry to patients through a rich and comprehensive mentorship of the health care providers within the company.