Schizophrenia affects about 1 in 100 people worldwide, causing hallucinations, delusions, and difficulties with thinking and motivation. Current treatment centers on antipsychotic medications that block dopamine receptors, helping many people manage psychotic symptoms but often leaving negative symptoms like social withdrawal and cognitive problems largely untreated.
What's actually going on in research
Trials are testing drugs that work beyond dopamine — including muscarinic receptor agonists that act on acetylcholine pathways, trace amine-associated receptor agonists, and glutamate-targeting compounds. Researchers are also studying early intervention in people at high risk, long-acting injectable formulations to improve medication adherence, and add-on treatments for cognitive symptoms and negative symptoms that current drugs miss.
Muscarinic receptor agonists
Drugs like xanomeline-trospium (KarXT) work on acetylcholine pathways rather than dopamine, potentially treating psychosis without the movement side effects and weight gain common with current antipsychotics. FDA approval came in 2024 for adults with schizophrenia.
TAAR1 agonists
Trace amine-associated receptor 1 agonists modulate dopamine in a different way than standard antipsychotics. Early trials suggest they may reduce psychotic symptoms with fewer metabolic side effects.
Early intervention
Studies are identifying people at high risk before full psychosis develops and testing whether early treatment can prevent or delay schizophrenia. This research aims to catch the illness at a stage when intervention might have the most impact.
What to know before you search
Eligibility typically depends on diagnosis confirmation, current symptom severity, prior antipsychotic response, and whether the trial targets first-episode psychosis or chronic schizophrenia.
What types of trials are currently open
- Antipsychotic trials — Testing new medications or novel mechanisms to reduce hallucinations and delusions, often comparing them to existing drugs like risperidone or olanzapine.
- Negative symptom trials — Testing drugs specifically for withdrawal, lack of motivation, and reduced emotional expression — symptoms poorly treated by current antipsychotics.
- Cognitive trials — Testing treatments aimed at improving memory, attention, and problem-solving, which often remain impaired even when psychotic symptoms are controlled.
- Long-acting injectable trials — Studies of monthly or quarterly injections that maintain steady medication levels, designed to help people who struggle with daily pills.
- Early psychosis trials — Testing interventions in people experiencing their first episode of psychosis or at high risk, when treatment may have the greatest chance of altering long-term outcomes.
Recently added Schizophrenia trials
Receive daily brain stimulation sessions to improve self-awareness
This clinical trial investigates whether a non-invasive brain stimulation technique called transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) can improve the ability to distinguish between "self" and "others" in patients with schizophrenia. The intervention targets the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), a brain region critical for self-awareness, using 10Hz stimulation at 2mA for 20 minutes daily over five consecutive days. The study has two main objectives. First, it aims to characterize the underlying mechanisms of self-other boundary dysfunction in schizophrenia by comparing behavioral and brain activity patterns among three participant groups: patients with schizophrenia, individuals with high schizotypal traits, and healthy volunteers. During this mechanism phase, participants perform two computer-based self-other face recognition tasks designed to manipulate prior probability (varying the proportion of self vs. other faces across blocks) and perceptual uncertainty (adjusting the Gaussian blur level of face images), while their brain activity is recorded via EEG. Behavioral performance (response time, accuracy, and sensitivity d') and EEG markers (alpha-band power, N170, and P1 components) are analyzed to quantify deficits in predictive coding. Second, the study aims to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of tACS in a randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled trial. The primary hypothesis is that active tACS, compared to sham stimulation, will significantly improve patients' accuracy in distinguishing self from other faces, accompanied by enhanced alpha-band brain oscillations and reduced scores on the Examination of Anomalous Self-Experience (EASE) scale. All participants will undergo clinical assessments, complete the face recognition tasks while their brain activity is monitored via EEG, and complete follow-up assessments 48 hours after the last stimulation session. The findings from this study may provide a novel, mechanism-based non-pharmacological intervention for addressing core self-disturbance in schizophrenia, potentially improving patients' social functioning and quality of life.
Take a daily herbal supplement for 90 days to reduce treatment side effects
The primary objective of the study is to assess the efficacy and tolerability of a 90-day daily supplementation with a Nitraria retusa dried crushed leaves infusion on the iatrogenic metabolic side effects induced in patients with treatment-resistant schizophrenia following clozapine treatment. After providing written informed consent, eligible patients with treatment-resistant schizophrenia will be invited to receive a daily Nitraria retusa extract infusion at approximately 9 PM for 90 consecutive days, as an adjunct to their usual medications. Patients will be instructed to maintain their usual diet, routine, and lifestyle throughout the study. Clinical and biological evaluations will be conducted prospectively at baseline (T0), day 10 (T1), day 45 (T2), and day 90 (T3). Two additional assessments will be planned at day 30 and day 60 to comply with the monthly complete blood count (CBC) surveillance recommended for patients receiving clozapine. Assessments include anthropometric measures, body composition, vital signs, CBC, metabolic panels, and renal and hepatic function. All biological samples were collected after a 12-hour fast.
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