TOKYO (Dispatches) -- In a recent study , researchers discovered that the drug fasudil used in mice reversed two common symptoms associated with schizophrenia.
A team led by the Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, in collaboration with Fujita Health University, used fasudil to to restore neurons and improve methamphetamine-induced cognitive dysfunction in a mouse model of schizophrenia. They used fasudil to inhibit Rho-associated kinase (ROCK) in model mice with mutations in their ARHGAP10 gene to see if this improved symptoms. They found that treatment restored the density of pyramidal neurons in the medial prefrontal cortex, a part of the brain associated with attention and long-term memory. As a result, mice with methamphetamine-induced cognitive impairment treated with the drug also performed better on visual discrimination tests.
When model mice with mutations in their ARHGAP10 gene are bred, they exhibit symptoms similar to those of human schizophrenia patients. Symptoms include altered spine density, methamphetamine-induced cognitive dysfunction, and activation of RhoA/ROCK signaling.
Genetic vulnerability is generally accepted to be involved in the development of schizophrenia. One of the key genetic factors involved is copy-number variation, a genetic trait in which people have different numbers of a particular gene. In particular, variations in the copy number of the ARHGAP10 gene are associated with symptoms of schizophrenia.