Lack of association between serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels and improvement of schizophrenia symptoms in a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of memantine as adjunctive therapy to clozapine.

摘要

To the Editor: We have shown that memantine as adjunctive therapy to clozapine improves negative and positive symptoms in patients with refractory schizophrenia.1 However, the biologic mechanism for this improvement remains unclear. Meisner et al2 have reported an interaction between memantine and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). An effect of memantine on nonneuronal BDNF-producing cells may explain this interaction by activation of extrasynaptic N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors and promotion of neuronal functioning. BDNF is implicated in many psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia.