Iloperidone: Preclinical Profile and Early Clinical Evaluation

Schizophrenia is a severe mental illness affecting an estimated 1% of the world's population (73). The disease has an uncertain pathophysiology possibly leading to disruption of dopaminergic neural systems through poorly understood interactions of anatomic, metabolic, and genetic abnormalities. Experiential stress appears to be a factor in the onset of the disease (which typically occurs in late adolescence or early adulthood), and in the initiation of a relapse to a psychotic state. The schizophrenic patient suffers from psychotic symptoms broadly categorized as positive, negative, or cognitive (1). The positive symptoms include delusions, hallucinations, irrational fears, and disorganization of thought. Negative or deficit symptoms include social withdrawal, impairment in role functioning, diminished or inappropriate affect, poverty of speech, marked lack of initiative or energy, and inability to experience pleasure. Cognitive symptoms comprise impairment of attention, verbal fluency, recall memory, or executive function. Disease chronicity, onset during adolescence, and high