Pregnenolone and Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a long-term mental health condition that causes a wide array of psychological symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions, muddled thoughts, and changes in behavior. Currently, treatment for schizophrenia includes antipsychotic medicines and cognitive behavioral therapy (talking therapy). There is increasing evidence that pregnenolone administration can be considered as a therapeutic option for this debilitating mental condition:
1. In patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder, pregnenolone treatment reduces severity of negative symptoms. [79]
2. In patients with schizophrenia, pregnenolone improves attention, as well as verbal and working memory performance. [80]
3. Administration of low-dose pregnenolone together with antipsychotics reduces drug-induced side effects in schizophrenic patients. [81]
4. In mice, pregnenolone reduces schizophrenia-like symptoms and prevents cognitive deficits. [82]