Conditions: Schizophrenia Schizoaffective Disorders Schizophreniform Disorders
Keywords: schizophrenia pravastatin inflammation cognition antipsychotics cholesterol
Allocation: RANDOMIZED | Intervention model: PARALLEL
Enrollment: 60
Healthy volunteers: no

Brief summary:
This study involves people with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, who are currently taking antipsychotic medications. Some antipsychotic medications may cause an increase in cholesterol levels, which may lead to inflammation in the body. Inflammation poses a risk in developing heart disease, diabetes and problems with brain function. The purpose of this study is to see if pravastatin can:

* Lower cholesterol
* Decrease inflammation
* Improve cognition in patients with schizophrenia

Detailed description:
This study is a 12-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study of pravastatin 40mg a day, administered for 12 consecutive weeks to subjects with schizophrenia to examine pravastatin's effects on lowering cholesterol levels and inflammatory markers, and improving cognition. The study will be conducted at the Freedom Trail Clinic and will use the Massachusetts General Hospital Clinical Research Center. The innovative approach of using pravastatin to not only decrease cholesterol levels, but to decrease inflammation and improve cognition in patients with schizophrenia is promising and may lead to a different approach to treatment in this population.

Arms:
arm 1: pravastatin 40mg, once a day, shortly after baseline for 12 consecutive weeks arm 2: placebo, once a day, shortly after baseline for 12 consecutive weeks

Interventions: intervention 1: Pravastatin intervention 2: Placebo
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: pravastatin 40mg, or placebo, once a day, shortly after baseline for 12 consecutive weeks intervention 2: pravastatin 40mg, or placebo, once a day, shortly after baseline for 12 consecutive weeks

Protocol document: