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Effect of Sodium Benzoate as an Add-on Therapy on the Clinical and Cognitive Symptoms of Schizophrenia: A Case Series
Correspondence Address :
Robin Victor,
Ladpur, Raipur Road, Dehradun-248001, Uttarakhand, India.
E-mail: robinvictor111@gmail.com
Schizophrenia is understood as a construct of positive, negative, and cognitive symptoms. There has been considerable proof at a genetic, biochemical, and pharmacological level to support that N-methyl-D-aspartate Receptor (NMDAR) hypofunction is a key factor in the development of clinical and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia. While most antipsychotics improve positive symptoms of schizophrenia, the negative and cognitive symptoms have usually been much more difficult to treat and have been associated with poor prognosis, poor functional outcome, and long-term morbidity. Sodium benzoate is a molecule that targets D-amino Acid Oxidase (DAAO) and competitively inhibits it, thus acting as an NMDAR agonist. With this background, we started using sodium benzoate as an adjuvant along with the ongoing antipsychotics in certain patients with schizophrenia to observe the change in clinical and cognitive symptoms. The authors have compiled a case series of 12 such patients. They found an improvement ranging from 17% to 21.5% in the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) score and 19% to 32.5% in the Mini-mental State Examination (MMSE) Score after six weeks of administration of sodium benzoate as an add-on agent. None of the patients reported any adverse effects after six weeks. Thus, sodium benzoate as an add-on treatment can act as a neurocognitive enhancer as well as a novel antipsychotic that can bridge the gap in the treatment of schizophrenia.
Antipsychotics, Cognition, D amino acid oxidase
DOI: 10.7860/JCDR/2024/69905.19492
Date of Submission: Feb 02, 2024
Date of Peer Review: Mar 20, 2024
Date of Acceptance: Apr 11, 2024
Date of Publishing: Jun 01, 2024
AUTHOR DECLARATION:
• Financial or Other Competing Interests: None
• Was informed consent obtained from the subjects involved in the study? Yes
• For any images presented appropriate consent has been obtained from the subjects. NA
PLAGIARISM CHECKING METHODS:
• Plagiarism X-checker: Feb 02, 2024
• Manual Googling: Mar 26, 2024
• iThenticate Software: Apr 09, 2024 (13%)
ETYMOLOGY: Author Origin
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