Design
psychotic symptoms, psychiatric, neuroinflammation, schizophrenia spectrum disorder
BLIND
The study was a randomized, double blind, placebo controlled, mono-center study in which patients fulfilling the DSM-IV criteria for a schizophrenia spectrum disorder and experiencing active psychotic symptoms were treated with valaciclovir for seven days. Participants underwent two (Participants were randomly assigned to treatment with either valaciclovir or placebo for seven days, starting after the pre-treatment PET scan. Participants were admitted to the psychiatric department of the University Medical Center in Groningen during treatment, either for 24/7 or only during daytime. Their medication was taken under supervision of a psychiatric nurse and side effects were monitored. There was a valaciclovir free period of seven days after treatment, which ensured absence of direct (confounding) pharmacological effects, such as temporarily increase in neuroinflammation.A graphical overview of the study design is shown in Overview of the study design. *Intervention lasted for 7 days, so day 2–9 of the study protocol.This study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee (institutional review board) of the University Medical Center Groningen (METc2009/105) and was registered before start of inclusion in the clinicaltrials.gov database with identifier NCT01364792 on 2 June 2011. All participants provided written informed consent and Good Clinical Practice guidelines were followed.