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Newest treatment for Schizophrenia in 30 years
#1
I personally care deeply about several friends of mine who suffer from schizophrenia.  

Schizophrenia is a disorder that takes a pernicious form.  It can be very disruptive and erratic in the way it manifests.  The definitions offered by our expert-base are nuanced and differ slightly from one another, but they all agree on some fundamental observations...

There are generic descriptions like this: "A psychotic disorder characterized by emotional responsiveness and disintegration of thought process..." to specifics such as a laundry list of observed symptoms, which often are clumped together, leading many to infer that if you have one you have them all - at least to some degree.

But that is not how this manifests in the personal realities of at least some sufferers.  It might be offensively strong in some areas, and blessedly mild in others, it might be a sporadic and unpredictable manifestation, or sometimes problematically overlaid over large swaths of the sufferer's life.  It might be a storm of intrusive thoughts and impulse, or a completely displaced shifting of perspective, untranslatable for everyone around...  It could be a oppressive weight crushing every perception, or a sudden, otherwise inexplicable disconnect from the context of the world around them.  It can affect the perception of time, space, and even those people around them.  It transcends explanation, verbal or otherwise...

Doctors have traditionally sought to control this affliction by assaulting the patients' brain... their principle operating platform... either with direct physical interventions, or indirect chemical exposures.  And frequently they have achieved tantalizing - but limited - successes in diminishing the effects, or minimizing the magnitudes of its manifestations.  This often meant drugs, and unfortunately... it is one of those things that takes the form of "We'll try this" followed by "We'll try that."  But this is not about the medical community's willingness to play the 'roulette' approach, nor is it about the pharmaceutical industry's penchant to make every disease a profit opportunity.

From FoxNews: New schizophrenia drug gets FDA approval, taking novel approach to treating brain disorder
Subtitled: COBENFY marks the first new class of medications for the mental illness in more than 30 years

[This is what I call "Marketing Journalism" - it reads like a press release]

They use the word "novel" which is always a warning signal for me, there is usually nothin novel about it... and often that is easily confirmed by the fact that the text explains little in the way of explaining what exactly is novel about it.  But in this case...

"The approval of COBENFY is a transformative moment in the treatment of schizophrenia because, historically, medicines approved to treat schizophrenia have relied on the same primary pathways in the brain."

"By leveraging a novel pathway, COBENFY offers a new option to manage this challenging condition."


Perhaps more important is the fact that this will become available to prescribe in October... and is being hailed as another treatment option

On Thursday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved COBENFY (xanomeline and trospium chloride), an oral medication that is manufactured by Bristol Myers Squibb in New Jersey.

This drug wasn't developed by Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS)… it was developed by a company called KARUNA THERAPEUTICS, which  BMS purchased for 14 Billion dollars recently.  Since the purchase, every major media company has used words like "revolutionary," "breakthrough," and "novel"...  but not before, when it was a Karuna product... owning the press can be a wonderful thing for business, no?

I hope this is good news for sufferers... and not a cesspool of 'side effects' and adverse reactions... these people have suffered enough.
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#2
THE SCIENTIFIC DOCTOR

WHEN I went to the scientific doctor
I realised what a lust there was in him to wreak his so-called
science on me
and reduce me to the level of a thing.
So I said: Good-morning! and left him.

   - D.H. Lawrence

(09-27-2024, 06:51 PM)Maxmars Wrote: This drug wasn't developed by Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS)… it was developed by a company called KARUNA THERAPEUTICS, which  BMS purchased for 14 Billion dollars recently.  Since the purchase, every major media company has used words like "revolutionary," "breakthrough," and "novel"...  but not before, when it was a Karuna product... owning the press can be a wonderful thing for business, no?

Karuna was spun up specifically to develop xanomeline therapy for psychiatric use:
Quote:In the 1990s, Eli Lilly and Company tried to develop xanomeline as a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, but the gastrointestinal side effects were too difficult to manage. Andrew Miller, then an executive at PureTech Health, licensed xanomeline in 2012 and founded Karuna to develop the treatment. Karuna solved the side effect problem by adding trospium, a muscarinic antagonist, to block xanomeline from the muscarinic receptors outside the brain. Trospium does not cross the blood-brain barrier, preserving xanomeline’s beneficial activity.
https://cen.acs.org/pharmaceuticals/drug...eb/2024/09

Here's the original paper from 2008. The initial research was sponsorted by Lilly, BMS, and others:
Quote:Supported by a grant from Eli Lilly.Dr. Shekhar has received grant support from NIH, Eli Lilly, Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Wyeth. Dr. Potter is an employee of Merck. Drs. Dubé, Felder, Mallinckrodt, and McKinzie and Mr. Lieneman are employees of Eli Lilly. Mr. Bymaster is a former advisor for Eli Lilly.
https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176...8.06091591

While I am cynical of allopathic medicine in a way I believe to be appropriate, I am also hopeful for anything that might better help those who suffer.

edit: ps i think im getting the hang of this place ive just got to capitalize and proofread and lippyserve rationlism! hahah! Tumble
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#3
I don't have an opinion on schizophrenia, I have no knowledge of it really, nor do I know anyone affected by it.  My reply here is mainly focused on pharmaceutical companies and the products they produce.

First off, I am not a "big pharma" activist, one way or the other really.  I am, however, staggered by the amount of money bandied about in the pharmaceutical world.  I am also often shocked at the costs of certain drugs.  I have tried to look into the underpinnings of these things from an objective way, and I have concluded that it is a biblically complex area of study.  The problem, as I see it, is it is very difficult to keep focus on just the pharmaceutical products trajectory alone, without being distracted into several other related areas, not the least of which is the insurance industry (which then devolves into topics such as liability, the legal system, and a myriad of other topics).  Once one 're-surfaces' and takes stock of the larger picture again it's...I don't know...a MESS!

There's definitely a problem, but finding the true source is extremely difficult because everyone has an 'excuse' (putting it simply).

I think if I was ever going to become an activist about something it would probably be in the area of insurance reform.  For me, it's a no-brainer to see a need for reform when you have banks borrowing money from the insurance companies.  That, right there, should be a giant blinking neon sign..."PROBLEM RIGHT HERE REQUIRES FIXING!"  Insurance, IMO, is the cause of many evils in our society today.  It's like legalized extortion on many levels.  Insurance required to drive a car, insurance required to build a car, insurance required to sell a car.  Doctor requires insurance, hospital requires insurance, medical device manufacturer requires insurance, contractor building hospital requires insurance.  Literally, every sector you look into requires insurance...which brings us of course to pharmaceutical companies.  The list of reasons why pharmaceutical companies require insurance is practically limitless (which is a big reason, erm, excuse, why their products cost so much):
  • Development failure (product doesn't sell after investing)
  • Product failure (doesn't work)
  • Liability (direct) (huge)
  • Liability (indirect)
  • Marketing
  • Enjoined liability
  • Accident
  • Class Action liability
  • Product loss / expiration (supply-demand mismatch)
  • (list goes on)
(sigh) This soap box is broken; I need a new one.  But you get the idea.
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#4
I know four people with schizophrenia.

I know one of them HAS TO have risperidone.  Otherwise she hears demons all day and all night, even in dreams.

I think the demons are probably real and the medicine changes the brain chemistry to make it so she can't hear them anymore.   But that's just my opinion. 

The risperidone works just fine.   But glad to hear there are other options coming available if the risperidone ever becomes something she can't take.
make russia small again
Don't be a useful idiot.  Deny Ignorance.
 
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#5
I can't comfortably accept that the science has "explained" schizophrenia.  At best, it only explains the effects it presents.

The treatments offered have some results that many, including patients, feel improve the oppressive symptoms it imposes on the world.

I can only hope that the constant pressure of commerce overlaid on it doesn't nullify the help many sincerely intend to bring to the situation.

I just wish that medicine in reporting wasn't mostly a "compromise" weighed against the suffering of others.  Compromises should never be imposed by those who don't suffer, as in the 'clinically detached.'  It's too easy for those to make them... too 'expedient' to discount things like "side effects" and the "quality of a patients' life."

These commercial pressures bring us abuse disguised as virtue... drugs that only make money, and too little else.  They bring us "options" that may only be an illusion at best, and exploitation at worst.

I pray I'm wrong, and this new (novel) drug is actually an effective relief... but experience tells me I can't simply 'trust' them anymore... because they truly seem to care about little beyond profitability.  The reporting of "press release" material is a cue... all reporting, no investigation.  True journalism usurped... again... we should be used to it by now... but that doesn't mean we should just 'consume' what they report without thought or inquiry.
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#6
(09-28-2024, 07:31 AM)FlyersFan Wrote: I know four people with schizophrenia.

I know one of them HAS TO have risperidone.  Otherwise she hears demons all day and all night, even in dreams.

I think the demons are probably real and the medicine changes the brain chemistry to make it so she can't hear them anymore.   But that's just my opinion. 

The risperidone works just fine.   But glad to hear there are other options coming available if the risperidone ever becomes something she can't take.


I have schizophrenia I'm on the invega shot, if I'm even 3 days overdue for it I could swear I'm being haunted
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#7
Looks like a banger:
Quote:The primary efficacy measure was the change from baseline in the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) total score at week 5. The PANSS is a 30-item scale that measures symptoms of schizophrenia. Each item is rated by a clinician on a seven-point scale. In both studies, the participants who received Cobenfy experienced a meaningful reduction in symptoms from baseline to Week 5 as measured by the PANSS Total Score compared to the placebo group.
 
The prescribing information includes warnings that Cobenfy can cause urinary retention, increased heart rate, decreased gastric movement or angioedema (swelling beneath the skin) of the face and lips. Cobenfy is not recommended for patients with mild hepatic (liver) impairment. It should not be used in patients with known hepatic impairment. There is also a risk of liver damage. Patients should stop using Cobenfy if experiencing signs or symptoms of substantial liver disease (including yellowing of the skin or the white part of the eyes, dark urine and unexplained itching). Cobenfy is substantially excreted by the kidney and is not recommended in patients with moderate to severe renal impairment. 
 
Cobenfy should not be prescribed to patients with urinary retention, moderate or severe kidney or liver disease, gastric retention, untreated narrow-angle glaucoma or a history of hypersensitivity to either Cobenfy or its components.
 
The most common side effects of Cobenfy are nausea, indigestion, constipation, vomiting, hypertension, abdominal pain, diarrhea, tachycardia (increased heartbeat), dizziness and gastroesophageal reflux disease.

https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-an...izophrenia

It's taken twice a day, with an estimated annual list price of $22500. I suppose it may be better than Zombieland though. Or actually having to face the demons.
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#8
(09-29-2024, 11:17 AM)UltraBudgie Wrote: Looks like a banger:

It's taken twice a day, with an estimated annual list price of $22500. I suppose it may be better than Zombieland though. Or actually having to face the demons.

Most insurances cover it or they'll go e it to you for free if they can't afford it, they have a program through the company that allows that, it's worth a shot, if the pills work, the shot will work wonders
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#9
(09-29-2024, 07:42 AM)NID8648 Wrote:
 
I have schizophrenia I'm on the invega shot, if I'm even 3 days overdue for it I could swear I'm being haunted

Which makes me wonder if some of these folks with schizophrenia actually ARE experiencing demons and ghosts, and the medication just changes the brain chemistry to block the psychic events that are happening to them.

I have no idea.  But I do think about it.
make russia small again
Don't be a useful idiot.  Deny Ignorance.
 
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