Current and prospective estrogenic drugs in the treatment of schizophrenia

Schizophrenia manifests a number of neurocognitive and cardiometabolic abnormalities besides displaying classical symptoms of psychosis. The olfaction, the cognition, the emotions, and the linking biology including neurogenesis, gliogenesis, and synaptic circuitries are defectiveas a result, functional connectivity and information processing are disrupted in schizophrenia. Additionally, cardiometabolic functions are also impaired in schizophrenia from the early stage of the psychosis. Antipsychotics drugs as the prime treatment target have failed to correct neurocognitive abnormalitieshowever, antipsychotic adjunct therapy with estrogenic drugs is showing promising results in reducing cognitive deficits in schizophrenia. Besides, the ability of estrogenic drugs to modulate neurogenesis, gliogenesis, and synaptic circuitries underlying neurocognitive impairments suggests that these drugs can improve functional connectivity and information processing and, therefore, can be potential targets for neurocognitive amelioration in schizophrenia, and other psychiatric conditions. In addition, their ability to reduce cardiometabolic complications including, obesity, diabetes, and atherosclerosis associated with long-term antipsychotic treatments, will greatly help in improving the quality of life of schizophrenia patients and advancing their integration into the working environment and social life