Promising use of minocycline augmentation with clozapine in treatment-resistant schizophrenia

Abstract

Treatment-resistant schizophrenia is a major health problem in the UK with the majority of patients treated with clozapine. In up to 70% of cases there is only a partial response to clozapine with continuing refractory symptoms. We describe two cases in a UK mental health service where minocycline was found to be useful and well tolerated as an augmentation agent with clozapine in the improvement of previously resistant positive and negative symptoms.

Keywords

Minocycline clozapine treatment-resistant schizophrenia

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Bartolomeis

et al. (2012) Targeting glutamate system for novel antipsychotic approaches: Relevance for treatment resistant schizophrenia. Eur J Pharmacol 5: 1–11.

Dean

et al. (2012) Minocycline: Therapeutic potential in psychiatry. CNS Drugs 26: 391–401.

Fan

et al. (2007) Elevated serum levels of C-reactive protein are associated with more severe psychopathology in a subgroup of patients with schizophrenia. Psychiatry Res 149: 267–271.

Kelly

et al. (2011) Adjunct minocycline to clozapine treated patients with persistent schizophrenia symptoms Schizophr Res 133: 257–258.

Levkovitz

et al. (2007) Minocycline, a second-generation tetracycline, as a neuroprotective agent in an animal model of schizophrenia. Brain Res 1154: 154–162.

Miyaoka

(2008a) Minocycline as adjunctive therapy for schizophrenia: An open-label study. Clin Neuropharmacol 31: 287–292.

Miyaoka

(2008b) Clinical potential of minocycline for schizophrenia. CNS Neurol Disord Drug Targets 7: 376–381.

Sommer

et al. (2001) Pharmacological augmentation strategies for schizophrenia patients with insufficient response to clozapine: A quantitative literature review. Schizophr Bull 38:1003–1011.

Zhang

et al. (2004) Minocycline attenuates hyperlocomotion and prepulse inhibition deficits in mice after administration of the NMDA receptor antagonist dizocilpine. Neuropsychopharmacology 32: 2004–2010.