title: Psychiatric drug trials and placebo.
abstract: The placebo-controlled trial has been the standard method to demonstrate efficacy and safety of drugs. The trials are regulated by standards and principles that aim to safeguard patient safety and to ensure the faultless availability of reliable information about the object of the survey. The use of a placebo group in clinical drug trials is still as well founded as ever, and is especially important in conditions where the severity of the disorder is associated with variation in time, the possibility of a spontaneous recovery, or in conditions involving a significant proportion of subjective experience. In this systematic review, the present guidelines for developing new compounds for psychiatric disorders are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Oulu, Finland. hannu.koponen@oulu.fi
authors.forename: Hannu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Koponen
authors.forename: Ulla
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Lepola
mesh_terms: D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy*; D015990:Placebo Effect; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D011619:Psychotropic Drugs