Researchers reviewed existing studies to see if blood-thinning medications, called antithrombotic agents, could help people with severe mental illnesses like schizophrenia, major depression, and bipolar disorder. They combined data from several small trials involving 742 patients total. The medications studied included common drugs like aspirin, cilostazol, and dipyridamole.
The analysis suggested these medications might slightly reduce symptoms of depression and overall schizophrenia symptoms compared to a placebo. The drugs also appeared to be tolerated about as well as a placebo, meaning side effects might not be worse. However, the researchers rated all this evidence as being of 'very low certainty'.
This means we cannot be confident in these results. The findings are based on a small number of patients and studies that may have had flaws. The researchers strongly state that the potential benefit of these drugs for mental illness remains very uncertain. More and better research is needed before anyone could consider this a treatment option. For now, this is an early, uncertain signal that requires much more investigation.
