Pharma, Pharmaceutics and Biotechnology Conference

Neuropsychopharmacology is the study of drugs actions within the brain to treat psychiatric and neurological disorders. In the context of infectious diseases, this field is especially important since many pathogens cause distortion of brain functioning and neuropsychiatric symptoms such as depression, anxiety, impairment of cognitive functions, and psychosis.

Understanding how infections affect brain chemistry and in which ways pharmacological treatments may cancel such effects is highly important in treating patient's mental health. Virtually all infectious diseases may lead to neuropsychiatric complications, including viral infections such as HIV and COVID-19, and bacterial infections including syphilis. Such complications are generally related to neuroinflammation - the immune response to infection often causes inflammation of brain tissues, which is likely to impact neurotransmitter systems and to result in mood disorders, cognitive dysfunction, and alterations in behavior.

For example, symptoms of post-COVID-19 ""brain fog"" cognitive impairment and amnesia. Memory may be affected, and symptoms of anxiety and depression may appear. Neuropsychopharmacology aids in this regard, by specifically developing drugs that target the neurotransmitter systems of the brain to redress the imbalances and symptoms.

Most mental health disorders associated with infections are managed through antidepressants, antipsychotics, and anxiolytics. More importantly, however, neuroprotective therapies are growing in importance that not just manage the symptoms but also prevent neurons from the damage caused by neuroinflammation and oxidative stress.

Chronic infections of the central nervous system, such as HAND associated with HIV, need long-term pharmacological approaches not only to infection but also to its psychiatric consequences. The task for neuropsychopharmacology here is to find both efficacy and safety in antipsychotic, antidepressant, or other psychotropic drugs in the presence of antimicrobial therapies.

Topics of current advances in neuropsychopharmacology related to infectious diseases will be discussed, with focus on how infections lead to neuropsychiatric disorders and the pharmacological approaches that prove beneficial for treatment of these conditions.

This discussion will include brainstorming mechanisms of brain-immune interactions, challenges in treating neuropsychiatric symptoms in infectious diseases, and where drug development stands in this field.