Varenicline: Treating Smoking Addiction and Schizophrenia

Abstract Schizophrenia is a major mental illness that is accompanied by positive, negative, and cognitive symptoms. Even after receiving adequate treatment, many patients with schizophrenia have residual symptoms and low quality of life. Schizophrenic patients have a high comorbidity of substance-related disorders. In particular, they have a high smoking prevalence compared to normal individuals. The smoking addiction of the schizophrenic patients is hypothesized to be related to various factors such as drug metabolism, self-medication, and psychosocial aspect. Varenicline can be used to treat smoking addiction in schizophrenic patients and has been shown to be effective in smoking reduction, cessation, and relapse prevention. Varenicline is thought to be involved in other psychopathologies, including cognitive function in patients with schizophrenia. However, this drug may be associated with adverse neuropsychiatric events, and hence, schizophrenic patients should be closely monitored and evaluated accordingly.