title: Disease progression and neuroscience.
abstract: The concepts of disease progression are discussed in the context of neurological disorders. The importance of understanding the time course of the response to inactive (placebo) treatment is discussed. Disease progression and response to placebo treatment both need to be considered before drug effects can be reliably identified. Criteria for distinguishing between symptomatic and disease modifying drug effects are proposed and used to interpret the results of clinical trials in pain, depression, schizophrenia, stroke, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology & Clinical Pharmacology, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand. n.holford@auckland.ac.nz
authors.forename: Nick
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Holford
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D018450:Disease Progression; D006801:Humans; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D009488:Neurosciences / Q000379:methods*; D015990:Placebo Effect; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D018696:Neuroprotective Agents