A study in mice:
Isoflurane Rescues Schizophrenia-Related Deficits through Parvalbumin-Positive Neurons in the Dentate Gyrus (Peng et al., Wuhan, China, 2022)
The therapeutic effects of volatile anesthetics on mental diseases, particularly schizophrenia, have gained considerable interest. Although isoflurane is a commonly used volatile anesthetic, there’s no more evidence that it could work on treating schizophrenia. Here, we discovered that inhaling isoflurane at low concentrations might reverse the behavioral phenotypes of schizophrenia caused by MK801, such as hyperlocomotion, pre-pulse inhibition impairment, and working memory loss. Isoflurane also helped recovering adult neurogenesis and synaptic plasticity impairments in the dentate gyrus (DG) induced by MK801. To better understand the mechanism, we discovered that isoflurane could reverse the reduction of parvalbumin (PV)-positive GABAergic interneuron (PVI) number and the aberration of NRG1-ErbB4 signaling in the DG; however, isoflurane could not reverse the schizophrenia-related phenotypes caused by PVI ablation, indicating that PVI are necessary for the therapeutic effect of isoflurane. Interestingly, isoflurane could reverse phenotypes caused by blocking PVIs GABA release in the DG, indicating the therapeutic impact is independent of PVI GABA release. Our research revealed that isoflurane might be used to treat schizophrenia, possibly through PVI in the DG.
From the introduction section:
In the dentate gyrus (DG) of adult rats, anesthetic treatment, especially the inhalation of isoflurane can help to promote neural stem cell proliferation and maturation [12]. GABAergic interneurons, particularly the parvalbumin-positive interneurons (PVIs), tightly regulate the activity of developing neurons [13,14]. One of the primary pathophysiological mechanisms of schizophrenia is PVI dysfunction, and a brief dose of isoflurane inhalation can boost PVI activity [15].
P.S. I came across this paper by reading the thread started by Everhopeful and then trying to read up about the NRG1-ERBB4 pathway and its role in schizophrenia.
