Table 2.

Clinical trials investigating the efficacy of statins in patients with schizophrenia.

References	Study design	Subject number (mean age)	F/U duration	Assessment	Diagnosis	Statin Name and Dosage	Main findings
POSITIVE FINDINGS
Tajik-Esmaeeli et al. (84)	DB RCT	36 statin and 36 placebo (44 ± 9 yrs)	8 weeks	PANSS	DSM-IV SPR, clinically stable	Simvastatin 40 mg/d + Risperidone 4~6 mg/d	“Simvastatin + risperidone” improved PANSS total and negative score at week 8
POSITIVE ASSOCIATION WITHOUT SIGNIFICANCE
Chaudhry et al. (85)	RB RCT	12 statin and 12 placebo (18~35 yrs)	12 weeks	PANSS	DSM-IV Psychotic dis., stable	Simvastatin 40 mg/d + APs	“Simvastatin + Aps” improved PANSS total score without significant difference; little effect on PANSS negative score
Deakin et al. (86)	RB RCT	130	6 months	PANSS	NA	Simvastatin 40 mg/d + APs	“Simvastatin + Aps” improved PANSS negative score at 3 and 6 months without main effects of simvastatin
Vincenzi et al. (87)	DB RCT	30 statin and 30 placebo (44 ± 12 yrs)	12 weeks	PANSS	DSM-IV SPR, outpatients	Pravastatin 40 mg/d + APs	“Pravastatin + Aps” improved PANSS positive score at week 6, but failed to remain significant at week 12
Sayyah et al. (88)	DB RCT	21 statin (35 ± 7 yrs) and 23 placebo (40 ± 10 yrs)	6 weeks	SANS	DSM-IV SPR, chronic	Atorvastatin 20 mg/d + Risperidone 6 mg/d	“Atorvastatin + risperidone” improved SANS score without significant difference (at 4 and 6 weeks, p = 0.074 and 0.068, respectively).
NEGATIVE FINDINGS
Ghanizadeh et al. (89)	DB RCT	20 statin and 16 placebo (30 ± 8 yrs)	8 weeks	PANSS	DSM-IV SPR, inpatients	Lovastatin 20 mg/d + Risperidone 2~8 mg/d	No difference of PANSS score changes No serious adverse effect

Yrs, years; APs, antipsychotics; DB, double-blinded; RB, rater-blinded; RCT, randomized, placebo-controlled trial; DSM-IV, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4th edition; PANSS, Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, dis., disorder; SANS, Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms; SPR, Schizophrenia; NA, not applicable.