Staying Up to Date With the Latest Findings in Schizophrenia: Take Home Messages From the Southern California Psychiatry Conference

CONFERENCE REPORTER

Gus Alva, MD, DFAPA, shares some of the take home points he hopes attendees of the Southern California Psychiatry Conference will walk away with after attending the first sessions focused on schizophrenia.

"When we take a look at the digestible portions of each one of the sessions, session 1 will be a great refresher course of why it makes sense to adopt new tools at our disposal in dealing with tough conditions like schizophrenia," said Alva.

Alva specifically highlights M1-M4 agonists. A prominent example of an M1-M4 agonist is xanomeline, which has shown some promise in treating symptoms of schizophrenia and Alzheimer disease. Recently, according to topline results from the phase 3 ARISE study, xanomeline and trospium chloride (Cobenfy) as an adjunctive treatment to atypical antipsychotics did not show a statistically significant difference compared with placebo in adults with inadequately controlled symptoms of schizophrenia. However, treatment with Cobenfy and an atypical antipsychotic showed a numerical improvement compared with treatment with placebo and an atypical antipsychotic.¹ Experts believe part of the outcome is due to a high placebo response, which often complicates the interpretation of adjunctive studies.²

"When we speak about a combination of xanomeline and trospium, that helps destigmatize a condition like schizophrenia and walks us away from the likelihood of problems that we have had up to this particular point, including black box warnings, metabolic warnings, and disruptions with Parkinsonian symptoms or tardive dyskinesia," said Alva.

If you missed this weekend's meeting, you can still register for the inaugural 2025 Southern Florida Psychiatry Conference, which will take place on November 21-22, 2025 in West Palm Beach, FL.

Dr Alva is a board-certified psychiatrist, the medical director of ATP Clinical Research, and Mood Disorders Section Editor for Psychiatric Times.

References

1. Kuntz L. Cobenfy as add-on treatment for schizophrenia fails to meet primary endpoint in phase 3 ARISE trial. Psychiatric Times. April 22, 2025. https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/cobenfy-as-add-on-treatment-for-schizophrenia-fails-to-meet-primary-endpoint-in-phase-3-arise-trial

2. Weiden PJ, Duerr HA. Cobenfy as an adjunctive agent in schizophrenia: Peter J. Weiden, MD, shares insights on the latest findings. Psychiatric Times. April 25, 2025. https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/cobenfy-as-an-adjunctive-agent-peter-weiden-md-latest-insights