Mitochondrial weakness and its influence on neurovascular function contribute to the development of neuropsychiatric disorders

Researchers from Penn's School of Veterinary Medicine and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia led a groundbreaking study that could pave the way for new treatment strategies for neuropsychiatric disease in patients with 22q deletion syndrome (22qDS). The study, which was conducted in collaboration with the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, focused on the potential treatment of neuropsychiatric disease in patients with 22qDS.

The study did not involve human participants, as it was conducted on animal models. However, the findings are significant because they provide a potential new avenue for treating a disease that currently has limited treatment options.

The study suggests that mitochondrial dysfunction in the blood-brain barrier could be a key factor in the development of neuropsychiatric disease in some patients with 22qDS. The researchers demonstrated that a class of FDA-approved cholesterol drugs could potentially be repurposed to treat this mitochondrial dysfunction.

The cholesterol drugs used in the study are FDA-approved for other purposes. While the specific developers of the drugs are not named in the study, they are developed by pharmaceutical companies specializing in cholesterol-lowering medications. The study's findings suggest that these drugs could be repurposed for treating mitochondrial dysfunction in the blood-brain barrier.

The repurposing of these cholesterol drugs could have implications for the treatment of neuropsychiatric disease in some patients with 22qDS. The study's findings need to be confirmed through further research before any definitive conclusions can be drawn about the effectiveness of repurposed cholesterol drugs for treating neuropsychiatric disease in patients with 22qDS.

If the findings hold up in further research, the repurposing of these cholesterol drugs could provide a much-needed treatment option for patients with 22qDS. The study's results are a promising step forward in the quest to better understand and treat this complex disease.