Two grams of sarcosine in schizophrenia – is it too much? A potential role of glutamate-serotonin interaction

Glutamate is the main excitatory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system. Dysfunction of the glutamatergic system plays an important role in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. Therefore, glutamatergic agents such as N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor co-agonists (ie, glycine, D-cycloserine) and glycine transporter type 1 inhibitors (eg, sarcosine) are studied for their efficacy in ameliorating negative and cognitive symptomatology in patients with schizophrenia. We report the case of a 23-year-old schizophrenic patient treated with quetiapine and citalopram, who was offered concomitant sarcosine treatment. After obtaining an informed consent, we started administration of 2 g of sarcosine per day to treat persistent negative and cognitive symptoms. The patient’s activity and mood improved within 2 weeks, but in the following 2 weeks the patient reported increased drive, activity, libido, unpleasant inner tension, and irritability. We ruled out hypomania and decided to decrease the daily dose of sarcosine to 1 g, which resulted in reduction of drive and irritability. Activity and mood improved compared with his state before adding sarcosine. We suggest a sarcosine dose between 1 g and 2 g per day with an initial dose of 2 g, but if side effects occur, the dose should be decreased to 1 g per day. We would like to emphasize the clinically important glutamate-serotonin interaction during concomitant use of sarcosine, citalopram, and quetiapine in our patient, which may lead to serious discomfort.