Placebos and Their Role in Science

Similar things can occur in drug trials, some inadvertent and some not so accidental. The difference, of course, between drug trials and cola wars is that supposedly impartial scientists are examining the trial methodology and grading the outcomes not television viewers. The higher the scientific method used in the study, the more influence the trial will have on regulatory bodies such as the FDA or Health Canada. These groups are not amused by efforts to skew results, and credibility suffers. In the US, drug companies must show 2 trials with positive results before a drug can be certified for use. Sometimes the finding of 2 positive studies is difficult. For example, the drug company that makes the antidepressant drug Prozac had to run five trials before obtaining two that were positive, while the makers of Paxil and Zoloft had to conduct even more, according to researchers in a recent study published in the International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology 2002;5(3):193-7. This article is quite interesting and insightful and deserves a longer discussion. In my next report, we'll have a closer look at it and another earlier study involving placebos. Stay tuned.

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