Glycine transporter inhibitors as therapeutic agents for schizophrenia.

Multiple lines of evidence suggest that a dysfunction in the glutamatergic neurotransmission via the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors contributes to the pathophysiology of psychiatric diseases including schizophrenia. The potentiation of NMDA receptor function may be a useful approach for the treatment of diseases associated with NMDA receptor hypofunction. One possible strategy is to increase synaptic levels of glycine by blocking the glycine transporter-1 (GlyT-1) in glia cells, since glycine acts as a co-agonist site on the NMDA receptor. In this article, the author reviews the recent important patents on GlyT-1 inhibitors for treatment of schizophrenia and other psychiatric diseases associated with the NMDA receptor hypofunction.