OR have i got it wrong? they always test a drug against a placebo, but never against 'no treatment'. is this because of ethics - you can't not treat a suffering person? (but then, doesn't that presume efficacy of treatments that are believed, but not yet proven, to work)?Why are there no control subjects in testing for psychiatric drugs?
It isn't just psychiatric drugs. All drugs are tested against placebo and/or reference treatments that are already established. Controlling for the placebo effect of the drug being studied makes sense, if you think about it, because the people taking a pill know they're taking a pill. It isn't the ethical problem that you suggest, because the placebo group aren't getting real treatment. It's just practical.Why are there no control subjects in testing for psychiatric drugs?
The medical and scientific community believe that people recieving a placebo more closely constitute a control group than people not treated at all.
The reason being, some people are going to feel better, whether or not they are getting the real drug. The idea is, the same percentage of people in each test group are likely to feel positive effects that are pshcosomatic as opposed to pharmacological.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment