The etiology and pathogenesis of schizophrenia remain unclear. The immune dysfunction
hypothesis for schizophrenia has attracted increasing attention from researchers, and
substantial evidence suggested that the levels of TNF-α and other cytokines are markedly
elevated in patients with schizophrenia. The investigators aim to evaluate the adjuvant
therapeutic effect of Pentoxifylline, a TNF-α inhibitor that crosses the blood-brain barrier,
in a randomized, double-blind, 6-week trial. Individuals with schizophrenia will receive
either Pentoxifylline or a matching placebo as an add-on treatment to antipsychotic agents.
Subjects' positive and negative symptoms and plasma concentration of neuroinflammatory
markers will be monitored at baseline and every two weeks until the end of the trial.