Xanomeline and Trospium: Potential substitute for conventional antipsychotics

Dear Madam, Schizophrenia is a chronic mental illness with a global prevalence of 24 million people (1). With paucity of researches mounting the exact prevalence of schizophrenia in Pakistan, the treatment of this illness becomes even harder to combat. This condition is typically managed with antip...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Nashit Irfan Aziz, Nida Rahman Khan, Muhammad Yusuf Hafiz
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Pakistan Medical Association 2022-08-01
Series:Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association
Online Access:https://www.ojs.jpma.org.pk/index.php/public_html/article/view/5732
_version_ 1797820897190477824
author Nashit Irfan Aziz
Nida Rahman Khan
Muhammad Yusuf Hafiz
author_facet Nashit Irfan Aziz
Nida Rahman Khan
Muhammad Yusuf Hafiz
author_sort Nashit Irfan Aziz
collection DOAJ
description Dear Madam, Schizophrenia is a chronic mental illness with a global prevalence of 24 million people (1). With paucity of researches mounting the exact prevalence of schizophrenia in Pakistan, the treatment of this illness becomes even harder to combat. This condition is typically managed with antipsychotics, which work by blocking the D2 dopamine receptors but recent advances in research also suggest that the muscarinic cholinergic system is also involved in its pathophysiology (2). The drug Xanomeline is an oral muscarinic cholinergic receptor agonist that activates M1 and M4 receptors. Xanomeline however causes side effects like vomiting, nausea, diarrhoea, sweating and hypersalivation. To bypass these effects, Trospium was added, which acts by blocking peripheral muscarinic cholinergic receptors. (3, 4). To observe the reduction of psychosis in schizophrenics, a double-blinded clinical trial was done with promising results: reduction of both, positive and negative symptoms of Schizophrenia, good tolerance and no evidence of weight gain (4). Side effects included constipation, nausea, dry mouth, dyspepsia, and vomiting although the incidence of these effects reduced over the course of the trial. However, there is a dearth of research when it comes to comparison of this combination drug (called KARXT) with the usual antipsychotics. Therefore, further research regarding the safety of KARXT, and its efficacy needs to be explored for potential amelioration of symptoms. Moreover, studies comparing the efficacy of this drug with the commonly used antipsychotics need to be explored in order to effectively assess the advantage and potential replacement benefits of this drug.
first_indexed 2024-03-13T09:45:00Z
format Article
id doaj.art-eb9cd8ccdfe14397ae93c2404435bae5
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 0030-9982
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-13T09:45:00Z
publishDate 2022-08-01
publisher Pakistan Medical Association
record_format Article
series Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association
spelling doaj.art-eb9cd8ccdfe14397ae93c2404435bae52023-05-25T04:21:48ZengPakistan Medical AssociationJournal of the Pakistan Medical Association0030-99822022-08-0172910.47391/JPMA.5732Xanomeline and Trospium: Potential substitute for conventional antipsychoticsNashit Irfan Aziz0Nida Rahman Khan1Muhammad Yusuf Hafiz2Department of Psychiatry, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, PakistanDepartment of Psychiatry, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, PakistanDepartment of Psychiatry, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan Dear Madam, Schizophrenia is a chronic mental illness with a global prevalence of 24 million people (1). With paucity of researches mounting the exact prevalence of schizophrenia in Pakistan, the treatment of this illness becomes even harder to combat. This condition is typically managed with antipsychotics, which work by blocking the D2 dopamine receptors but recent advances in research also suggest that the muscarinic cholinergic system is also involved in its pathophysiology (2). The drug Xanomeline is an oral muscarinic cholinergic receptor agonist that activates M1 and M4 receptors. Xanomeline however causes side effects like vomiting, nausea, diarrhoea, sweating and hypersalivation. To bypass these effects, Trospium was added, which acts by blocking peripheral muscarinic cholinergic receptors. (3, 4). To observe the reduction of psychosis in schizophrenics, a double-blinded clinical trial was done with promising results: reduction of both, positive and negative symptoms of Schizophrenia, good tolerance and no evidence of weight gain (4). Side effects included constipation, nausea, dry mouth, dyspepsia, and vomiting although the incidence of these effects reduced over the course of the trial. However, there is a dearth of research when it comes to comparison of this combination drug (called KARXT) with the usual antipsychotics. Therefore, further research regarding the safety of KARXT, and its efficacy needs to be explored for potential amelioration of symptoms. Moreover, studies comparing the efficacy of this drug with the commonly used antipsychotics need to be explored in order to effectively assess the advantage and potential replacement benefits of this drug. https://www.ojs.jpma.org.pk/index.php/public_html/article/view/5732
spellingShingle Nashit Irfan Aziz
Nida Rahman Khan
Muhammad Yusuf Hafiz
Xanomeline and Trospium: Potential substitute for conventional antipsychotics
Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association
title Xanomeline and Trospium: Potential substitute for conventional antipsychotics
title_full Xanomeline and Trospium: Potential substitute for conventional antipsychotics
title_fullStr Xanomeline and Trospium: Potential substitute for conventional antipsychotics
title_full_unstemmed Xanomeline and Trospium: Potential substitute for conventional antipsychotics
title_short Xanomeline and Trospium: Potential substitute for conventional antipsychotics
title_sort xanomeline and trospium potential substitute for conventional antipsychotics
url https://www.ojs.jpma.org.pk/index.php/public_html/article/view/5732
work_keys_str_mv AT nashitirfanaziz xanomelineandtrospiumpotentialsubstituteforconventionalantipsychotics
AT nidarahmankhan xanomelineandtrospiumpotentialsubstituteforconventionalantipsychotics
AT muhammadyusufhafiz xanomelineandtrospiumpotentialsubstituteforconventionalantipsychotics