Treatments A–Z

Medicines, therapies and newer options for schizophrenia, with how strong the evidence is for each.

36 treatments

A

  • Antibodies that block inflammation

    Also called tocilizumab, canakinumab, natalizumab, infliximab

    Antibody medicines that block a single inflammatory signal, or stop immune cells entering the brain. Small trials in schizophrenia have found little effect so far.

    MedicineIn trialsEarly

  • Aripiprazole

    Also called Abilify

    A second-generation antipsychotic taken as a daily tablet or as an injection every month or two. It causes little weight gain, but inner restlessness is common.

    MedicineApproved in EuropeEstablished

  • AVATAR therapy

    Also called Audio Visual Assisted Therapy Aid for Refractory auditory hallucinations

    A therapy in which people talk to a computer-made likeness of a distressing voice, voiced by a therapist, and practise standing up to it.

    Digital therapyIn trialsEmerging

C

  • Cannabidiol

    Also called CBD

    A substance from the cannabis plant that does not make people high. Small trials in psychosis gave mixed results; a large European trial began in 2026.

    MedicineIn trialsEarly

  • Celecoxib and aspirin

    Also called anti-inflammatory painkillers, NSAIDs

    Anti-inflammatory painkillers tested as add-ons to antipsychotics. Small trials of celecoxib were positive; the largest aspirin trials found no benefit.

    MedicineExperimentalEarly

  • Clozapine

    Also called Leponex, Clozaril

    Used when at least two other antipsychotics have not helped. It requires regular blood tests.

    MedicineApproved in EuropeStrong

  • Cognitive behavioural therapy for psychosis

    Also called CBTp, CGT-P

    A talking therapy in which a person and a therapist look at distressing experiences, such as voices or fears, and at the beliefs attached to them.

    Talking therapyIn treatment guidelinesStrong

  • Coping training

    Also called coping strategy enhancement

    A talking therapy that helps people with persistent voices find the ways of coping that work for them, and use them more deliberately.

    Talking therapyIn treatment guidelinesEmerging

D

  • D-serine and sarcosine

    Also called N-methylglycine

    Natural amino acids that help the NMDA receptor work. Small trials were often positive; the largest trial of D-serine was not.

    MedicineExperimentalEarly

  • Direclidine

    Also called NBI-1117568

    Switches on the M4 acetylcholine receptor alone, without a second drug to ease side effects. In phase 3 trials, including in Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania.

    MedicineIn trialsEarly

E

  • Emraclidine

    Strengthens the response of one acetylcholine receptor, M4. Two trials in 2024 found no benefit over placebo; a new trial is under way in the United States.

    MedicineIn trialsEarly

  • Evenamide

    Also called NW-3509

    A medicine that damps down excessive glutamate release, added to antipsychotics for treatment-resistant schizophrenia. It is in phase 3 trials, including in Europe.

    MedicineIn trialsEmerging

F

  • Family intervention

    Also called family work, behavioural family therapy

    Meetings in which a person with psychosis, the relatives they live with or see often, and a trained professional learn about the condition together and work through problems at home.

    Talking therapyIn treatment guidelinesStrong

G

  • Glycine transporter inhibitors

    Also called bitopertin, iclepertin

    Medicines designed to strengthen the NMDA receptor by raising glycine. Large trials found no benefit, and their development for schizophrenia stopped.

    MedicineDevelopment stopped

I

K

  • Kv3 channel modulators

    Also called AUT00206

    Experimental medicines meant to support the fast-firing inhibitory nerve cells that are weakened in schizophrenia. Tested only in one small early study.

    MedicineExperimentalEarly

L

  • Long-acting injections

    Also called depot injections, LAIs

    Antipsychotics given as an injection every few weeks or months, instead of daily tablets. The medicine is released slowly from the muscle.

    MedicineApproved in EuropeStrong

M

  • Maastricht interview

    Also called Maastricht Hearing Voices Interview

    A structured interview that maps a person's voices and links them to what has happened in their life, as a basis for coping and further treatment.

    Talking therapyIn treatment guidelinesEarly

  • Memantine

    Also called Ebixa

    An Alzheimer’s medicine that blocks the NMDA receptor. Added to antipsychotics, it improved negative symptoms in small trials.

    MedicineExperimentalEmerging

  • Minocycline

    An antibiotic that also calms the brain’s immune cells. Early trials suggested it eases negative symptoms; the two largest trials found no benefit.

    MedicineExperimentalEarly

N

  • N-acetylcysteine

    Also called NAC, acetylcysteine

    A building block of glutathione, the brain’s main antioxidant. Trials of it as an add-on in schizophrenia give mixed results.

    MedicineIn trialsEarly

O

  • Oestrogen and raloxifene

    Also called estradiol, oestradiol

    Hormone treatments added to antipsychotics, mainly in women. Several trials found benefits; others, including a Dutch–Belgian trial, did not.

    MedicineExperimentalEmerging

  • Olanzapine

    Also called Zyprexa

    A second-generation antipsychotic, usually taken as a daily tablet. It works well for many people, but often causes weight gain and raises blood sugar and blood fats.

    MedicineApproved in EuropeEstablished

  • Omega-3 fatty acids

    Also called fish oil, EPA, DHA

    Fish-oil fats tested to prevent psychosis in young people at high risk. The first trial was strongly positive; three larger trials were not.

    MedicineIn trialsEarly

P

  • Pimavanserin

    Blocks the serotonin 5-HT2A receptor. Tested for negative symptoms of schizophrenia; its phase 3 trial found no benefit, and its maker stopped trials in 2024.

    MedicineDevelopment stopped

  • Pomaglumetad

    Also called pomaglumetad methionil, LY2140023

    A medicine that reduces glutamate release through mGlu2/3 receptors. Eli Lilly stopped its development in 2012; a small trial in young people began in Australia in 2026.

    MedicineExperimental

  • Prednisolone

    A corticosteroid that suppresses inflammation. In two small trials in early schizophrenia, a six-week course did not clearly help.

    MedicineExperimentalEarly

R

  • Rituximab

    Also called MabThera

    An antibody medicine that removes the immune cells that make antibodies. It is being tested in schizophrenia in Sweden, and in antibody-related psychosis in England.

    MedicineIn trialsEarly

  • Roluperidone

    Also called MIN-101

    A medicine for negative symptoms, taken without an antipsychotic. The US regulator asked for another trial in 2024; it began in 2026, including in Bulgaria and Romania.

    MedicineIn trialsEmerging

S

  • Sodium benzoate

    Also called NaBen

    Slows the breakdown of D-serine, which the NMDA receptor needs to work. Small trials in Taiwan were positive; larger company trials stopped without results.

    MedicineIn trialsEarly

  • Statins

    Also called simvastatin, atorvastatin, pravastatin

    Cholesterol-lowering medicines that also dampen inflammation. A Dutch trial in early schizophrenia found no overall benefit for symptoms.

    MedicineExperimentalEarly

T

  • Talking With Voices

    Also called Voice Dialogue

    A talking therapy in which the therapist speaks directly with a person's voices, to build a calmer relationship with them.

    Talking therapyIn trialsEarly

  • Transcranial magnetic stimulation

    Also called TMS, rTMS

    Magnetic pulses sent through the skull to change activity in one area of the brain. In schizophrenia, it has been tested for persistent voices and for negative symptoms.

    Brain stimulationIn trialsEarly

U

  • Ulotaront

    Also called SEP-363856

    Acts on TAAR1, a receptor that regulates dopamine release, without blocking dopamine receptors. Promising in phase 2, it failed in two phase 3 trials; a third has finished.

    MedicineIn trialsEarly

V

  • Virtual reality therapy

    Also called VR therapy, VR-CBT, gameChange

    A therapy in which a person wears a headset and practises everyday situations they find threatening, such as a bus or a shop, in a computer-made world.

    Digital therapyIn trialsEmerging

X

  • Xanomeline–trospium

    Also called Cobenfy, KarXT

    The first medicine for schizophrenia that works without blocking dopamine receptors. Approved in the United States in 2024; not yet in Europe.

    MedicineIn trialsStrong

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