Brexpiprazole as an adjunct therapy for cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia

Researchers demonstrate that brexpiprazole improves attention and information processing speed in patients with schizophrenia

2026-02-12

(Press-News.org)

Cognitive impairment, including decreased attention and memory, remains one of the most disabling aspects of schizophrenia, affecting social life of patients. However, no effective treatment has yet been established for it. Now, researchers have investigated the effect of adding brexpiprazole on cognitive function in patients with schizophrenia. The findings revealed that patients with schizophrenia receiving adjunctive brexpiprazole showed a meaningful improvement in information processing speed, without worsening psychiatric symptoms.

Schizophrenia is a complex psychiatric disorder characterized by positive symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions and negative symptoms including emotional flattening, social withdrawal, and reduced motivation. Beyond these clinical features, cognitive dysfunction is a core and persistent challenge. Approximately 75–85% of patients with schizophrenia experience impairments in attention, memory, processing speed, and executive function. These deficits have a greater impact on daily functioning and social participation than positive or negative symptoms, making cognition a critical yet insufficiently addressed treatment target.

Cognitive dysfunction contributes significantly to unemployment and social disengagement, affecting nearly 80% of patients. Atypical antipsychotics are generally preferred for schizophrenia due to their relatively favorable cognitive profiles. Among them, brexpiprazole (BRX) has a distinctive pharmacological profile. It acts as a partial agonist of dopamine D2 and serotonin 5-HT1A receptors while antagonizing serotonin 5-HT2A,7 receptors. These properties differentiate BRX from other antipsychotics and have been linked to potential cognitive benefits. While BRX monotherapy may improve cognitive and social functioning, its effects as an adjunct to ongoing antipsychotic treatment had not been clearly established.

To elucidate this, a research team led by Professor Hiroyuki Kamei and graduate student Mr. Yuma Shimizu from the Office of Clinical Pharmacy Practice and Health Care Management, Meijo University, Japan, along with Dr. Ippei Takeuchi from the Office of Clinical Pharmacy Practice and Health Care Management, Meijo University, and Department of Psychiatry, Okehazama Hospital, Japan; Dr. Manako Hanya from the Office of Clinical Pharmacy Practice and Health Care Management, Meijo University; and Dr. Kiyoshi Fujita from the Department of Psychiatry, Okehazama Hospital, Japan, conducted an observational study examining the effects of additional administration of BRX on cognitive function in schizophrenia. The study was made available online on November 18, 2025, and was published in Volume 11, Issue 17 of Heliyon journal on December 1, 2025.

The motivation behind the research stems from a major therapeutic gap. Prof. Kamei explains,

“Cognitive impairments in schizophrenia constitute a major barrier to social participation. However, effective treatment remains unestablished.”

The researchers conducted an observational study examining the effects of adding BRX to existing antipsychotic regimens in patients with schizophrenia and prominent negative symptoms. Nineteen outpatients aged 18–65 years with a negative score of 20 or higher on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) scores were enrolled after excluding individuals with conditions that could affect cognitive assessment. BRX was administered alongside ongoing treatments, including multi-acting receptor-targeted antipsychotics, serotonin-dopamine antagonists, or dopamine partial agonists. Cognitive function was assessed using the trail making test (TMT) and word fluency test, while psychiatric symptoms were measured with PANSS at baseline and after 4, 8, and 16 weeks.

The study demonstrated a significant improvement in information processing speed, as measured by TMT-A, at all follow-up points after BRX administration. Other cognitive measures showed modest but non-significant changes. Notably, cognitive improvement occurred independently of changes in psychiatric symptom severity, indicating a direct effect of BRX.

These findings suggest that BRX may serve as a valuable adjunctive therapy for improving cognitive function, particularly processing speed, without destabilizing psychiatric symptoms. Although the study was limited by a small sample size and an uncontrolled design, it provides important preliminary evidence.

“Additional administration of BRX for 16 weeks in patients with schizophrenia significantly improved attention and information processing speed. Thus, our study demonstrates that BRX has significant potential to contribute to the future development of psychiatric treatment,” says Prof. Kamei.

Overall, adjunctive BRX shows promise as a strategy to attenuate cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia. These results support further investigation through larger, controlled studies, and reinforce the importance of targeting cognitive outcomes to improve long-term functional recovery in schizophrenia.

“Our pioneering research aims to enhance the quality of psychiatric care and strengthen and expand the professional role of pharmacists,” concludes Mr. Shimizu.

About Meijo University

Meijo University traces its origin back to the establishment of the Nagoya Science and Technology Course in 1926, giving it a proud history of more than 90 years. As one of the largest universities in the Chubu region, Meijo University is a comprehensive learning institution that supports a wide range of academic fields from the humanities to physical sciences. With a network of more than 200,000 graduates and alumni, it strives to contribute not only to local industries but also to international communities in various fields. Meijo University is also known as the birthplace of the carbon nanotube. To foster the human resources of the next generation, the university continues to tackle ongoing challenges by further enhancing its campus and creating new faculties.

Website: https://www.meijo-u.ac.jp/english/

About Professor Hiroyuki Kamei from Meijo University

Dr. Hiroyuki Kamei is a Professor at the Office of Clinical Pharmacy Practice and Health Care Management, Meijo University, Japan. He received his Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from Meijo University in 1984 and Doctor of Pharmaceutical Sciences from Meijo University in 1997. He has authored around 175 peer-reviewed publications in clinical psychopharmacology, neuropsychopharmacology, and psychiatric disorders. His research focuses on mental health pharmacotherapy, cognitive function evaluation in schizophrenia, and pharmacist–patient communication.

About Mr. Yuma Shimizu from Meijo University

Mr. Yuma Shimizu is a graduate student at the Office of Clinical Pharmacy Practice and Health Care Management, Meijo University, Japan. His research focuses on clinical pharmacy and clinical psychopharmacology.

Funding information

The present study was supported by JSPS KAKENHI, Grant Number JP23K06243 (Japan). The funder had no involvement in the study design; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to submit the article for publication.

END

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Applications of endovascular brain–computer interface in patients with Alzheimer's disease

2026-02-12

Background Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disorder, characterized by progressive cognitive decline and memory impairment with an insidious and irreversible pathological process. As the global population ages, AD imposes a heavy burden on families and society: one new case is diagnosed every 3 seconds worldwide. Advanced-stage patients lose full self-care ability, and the associated medical and nursing costs account for over 1.3% of the global GDP. Current clinical treatments mainly focus on symptomatic relief: cholinesterase inhibitors and the N-methyl-D-aspartate ...

**Path Planning Transformers supervised by IRRT*-RRMS for multi-mobile robots**

2026-02-12

In a study published in Robot Learning journal, researchers propose a new learning-based path planning framework that allows mobile robots to navigate safely and efficiently using a Transformer model. By learning from Improved RRT* with Reduced Random Map Size path-planning algorithms and combining this knowledge with a modified right-of-way rule, the system enables reliable navigation and replanning in dynamic multi-robot environments. Autonomous mobile robots are increasingly used in factories, warehouses, and service environments to transport materials and perform repetitive tasks. To operate safely, robots must plan collision-free ...

Nurses can deliver hospital care just as well as doctors

2026-02-12

Nurses can safely deliver many services traditionally performed by doctors, with little to no difference in deaths, safety events, or how patients felt about their health, according to a new Cochrane review. In some cases, nurse-led care even outperformed doctor-led care. Healthcare services are facing pressure due to an ageing population, complex health needs, long waiting lists, and doctor shortages. Receiving care from nurses, rather than doctors has been proposed as one way to improve access to hospital services for patients who ...

From surface to depth: 3D imaging traces vascular amyloid spread in the human brain

2026-02-12

Niigata, Japan - Researchers at Niigata University have used advanced three-dimensional (3D) imaging to reveal how amyloid β (Aβ) deposits spread along blood vessels in the human brain in cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA). By analyzing postmortem brain tissue, the team showed that vascular amyloid deposition is most prominent in surface arteries and extends continuously toward deeper vascular branches, providing insight into the spatial organization of amyloid pathology in CAA. CAA is a cerebrovascular disorder ...

Breathing tube insertion before hospital admission for major trauma saves lives

2026-02-12

Trauma patients urgently requiring a breathing tube are more likely to survive if the tube is inserted before arriving at hospital compared to insertion afterwards, suggests a modelling study led by researchers at University College London (UCL) and the Severn Major Trauma Network. The researchers found that prehospital emergency intubation of high-risk trauma patients could improve 30-day survival by 10.3%, and could save 170 lives each year in the UK. The findings of the new artificial intelligence (AI)-supported analysis, published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, provides ...

Unseen planet or brown dwarf may have hidden 'rare' fading star

2026-02-12

One of the longest stellar dimming events ever observed was likely caused by the gigantic saucer-like rings of either an unseen brown dwarf or 'super-Jupiter' blocking its host star's light, astronomers say. For decades the star – which sits 3,200 light-years from Earth and is about twice as big as our Sun – had been observed as stable, but at the end of 2024 it faded dramatically. It then remained this way for more than nine months, far longer than is normal for an event like this, sparking confusion among researchers and prompting speculation as to what could have caused such an "extremely rare" phenomenon. Now, in a new study published today in Monthly ...

Study: Discontinuing antidepressants in pregnancy nearly doubles risk of mental health emergencies

2026-02-11

Embargoed until 2:45 PM PST, February 11, 2026       Study: Discontinuing Antidepressants in Pregnancy Nearly Doubles Risk of Mental Health Emergencies     Las Vegas, NV – Pregnant patients who stopped taking their antidepressant medication during pregnancy were almost twice as likely to experience a mental health emergency compared with pregnant patients who continued taking their prescription, according to new research presented today at ...

Bipartisan members of congress relaunch Congressional Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) Caucus with event that brings together lawmakers, medical experts, and patient advocates to address critical gap i

2026-02-11

WASHINGTON—The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI), the leading nonprofit medical society representing invasive and interventional cardiology, is proud to participate in the relaunch of the Congressional Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) Caucus, organized by the PAD Pulse Alliance and hosted by Representatives Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) and Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL). The bipartisan event brought together physicians, patient advocates, and lawmakers to discuss current research and data, treatment, and urgent ...

Antibody-drug conjugate achieves high response rates as frontline treatment in aggressive, rare blood cancer

2026-02-11

Phase II study evaluates treatment for patients with blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN), a rare, aggressive blood cancer The antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) pivekimab sunirine (PVEK) targets the CD123 antigen, which is overexpressed in BPDCN PVEK monotherapy demonstrated strong responses, enabling ability to proceed with stem cell transplant for high-risk subgroup of patients with BPDCN Seventy-five percent of patients with blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN) who were treated with the antibody-drug conjugate ...

Retina-inspired cascaded van der Waals heterostructures for photoelectric-ion neuromorphic computing

2026-02-11

Professor Zhen Zhang's research group at the State Key Laboratory of Bionic Interface Materials Science, University of Science and Technology of China, proposed and constructed a neuromorphic computing system based on a cascaded van der Waals heterostructure two-dimensional nanofluidic membrane, achieving light-driven electron-ion coupling to simulate neural signal transmission and neuromorphic visual information processing. The article was published as an open access Research Article in CCS Chemistry, the flagship journal of the Chinese ...