Antipsychotic drugs, like clozapine, can stabilise some schizophrenia symptoms, but they do not cure the illness and can cause severe side effects.

At UQ, a neuroscientist, a chemist and a psychiatrist have hit on a formulation that may revolutionise the treatment of schizophrenia. The research team, led by Professor Darryl Eyles and Dr Xiaoying Cui, are investigating a new delivery mode for clozapine, in the hope that it may be better tolerated by people living with schizophrenia and improve their quality of life.

In this engaging conversation, Darryl and Xiaoying discuss: 

• Treatment-resistant schizophrenia and the side-effects of clozapine
• Collaborating with chemists to develop intranasal delivery
• What they have found so far in preclinical studies 
• The potential impact of their research on schizophrenia treatment

Related resources

Intranasal clozapine sol-gel formulation induces an antipsychotic effect at a fraction of a comparable oral therapeutic dose

Epitranscriptomic regulation of striatal function: a new neurobiology of schizophrenia

Schizophrenia research at QBI