B404 is a neuro-nicotinic receptor agonist :Schizophrenia, AstraZeneca and amino acids

B404 is a neuro-nicotinic receptor agonist :Schizophrenia, AstraZeneca and amino acids

Some interesting reading came up when I 'Googled' "B404", it's often a room number in meeting places discussing schizophrenia drug trials, etc and it's AstraZeneca's code number for a possible new schizophrenia and Alzheimers drug.

Maybe a book title, "Room B-404" would be good?

This is a thinking out loud post about Schizophrenia treatment and cause via some articles:

Too Many Amino Acids Flood the Brain in Schizophrenia

There is massive evidence that schizophrenia is organic. There are metabolic errors involving amino acids. This points towards a diet as a treatment.

Too many amino acids flood the brain

The Russian scientists concluded that the morphology was consistent with "a fear reaction". Rats in the third group (chronic schizophrenia) had "sharply pronounced dystrophic changes". This disproves the popular neurodevelopmental theory of schizophrenia.

The pituitary and the adrenals showed "reaction in response to stress". There were "severe, even leathal, dystrophic changes in neurosecretory cells."The results are consistent with my theory of amino acids flooding the cells. Some excess amino acids would be converted to fat. Thus the fat droplets are explained. If this theory is true, a diet very low in amino acids is suggested.Fruits are very low in both amino acids and fats. The diet that I am proposing is very high in fruit."
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Justifications for the Amino Acid Theory of Schizophrenia

"My theory is that amino acids flood the brain in psychiatric disorders. This is why glucose metabolism is slow. The brain is burning the amino acids for fuel."

Amino acid theory of SZ

"The swollen cells described by the Michigan workers are consistent with a toxic factor. In one patient the "face and extremities became cyanotic" and cold. This appears to suggest a partial failure of energy metabolism.The "ameboid degeneration of all types of glia" confirmed previous work by Alzheimer.

Scharenberg & Brown (1952) found neurons which "contained large amounts of lipoids which stained well with oil red". The myelinated fibers were "greatly swollen".

This confirmed earlier findings of lipoids by Alzheimer (1897, 1913) and others.

They suggested "a profound disturbance of metabolism".

My view is that they were correct. The swollen cells support the theory of amino acids flooding the cells."

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"B404 is a neuro-nicotinic receptor agonist, which we licensed for the symptomatic treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive deficit in schizophrenia. We’ve now confirmed the early promise of this agent and it has now entered definitive Phase Two study."-AstraZeneca earnings transcript 2007

AstraZeneca, B404 Schizophrenia drug in pipeline
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Maybe this is AstraZeneca's hope for the future for their profit once Seroquel goes off-patent. I do not trust the confirmation of early promise from AstraZeneca, early promise for that company means $$$ not patient care.