This study has now finished. 

The CATS study is investigating the use of Canakinumab adjunctive treatment to reduce symptoms and improve cognition in people with schizophrenia displaying elevated blood inflammatory markers. We are examining whether the use of this human immune cell-line antibody can help to improve language, memory, and reduce symptoms of schizophrenia. This human immune cell-line antibody, canakinumab, is a class of medication that decreases the levels of a protein called interleukin-1beta (IL-1β). The IL-1β protein is produced in response to inflammation in your body and canakinumab can decrease IL-1β protein and inflammation by blocking the pathway. We hope to learn how this human immune cell-line antibody, in addition to standard antipsychotic medication, can improve thought processing and reduce symptoms in people with schizophrenia, and to determine if this human immune cell-line antibody can be used as a new therapeutic treatment for people with schizophrenia.