Patent ID: 7829709

Claim:
A method of treating schizophrenia in a subject comprising administering to said subject an effective amount of a cysteine prodrug having the structure: or a cystine dimer of said prodrug having the structure: wherein: R 1 , R 2 , R 4 and R 5 are independently selected from OH, ═O, or a branched or straight chain C 1 to C 5 alkoxyl group, with the caveats that when ═O is selected the nitrogen atom adjacent the carbonyl group thusly formed bears a H and a single bond joins the adjacent nitrogen to said carbonyl group and further R 1 , R 2 , R 4 and R 5 shall be selected to not all be ═O; and R 3 is H, a branched or straight chain C 1 to C 5 alkyl, a nitrobenzenesulfonyl, an aryl thio, an aryl, an alkylthio, an acyl, a benzoyl, a thio acyl, a thio benzoyl, or a benzyl group; whereby schizophrenia is treated in said subject.