Six Essential Questions: Finding New Targets and Meeting the Challenges of Personalised Mental Health Treatment

Modern psychopharmacological research complements traditional monoamine theories by adopting new data on the role of neuroinflammation, the microbiome, and impaired neuroplasticity in the development of mental disorders. An insider perspective (an interview with a practicing specialist) is essential for assessing the real risks and prospects at an expert level, as well as understanding the complex ethical, medical, and social challenges associated with the development of new psychotropic medications. Renad N. Alyautdin, Dr. Sci. (Med.), Editor-in-Chief, Safety and Risk of Pharmacotherapy, Department for Medicine Safety Evaluation, Scientific Centre for Expert Evaluation of Medicinal Products, and Marina A. Kinkulkina, Dr. Sci. (Med.), Corresponding Member of RAS, Head of the Department of Psychiatry and Narcology, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, discussed the search for new therapeutic targets, the challenges of developing and implementing innovative drugs, and the options for minimising treatment risks for personalised medicine within the context of mental health treatment in the era of evolving psychopharmacotherapy.