Posted by Kon on July 31, 2005, at 13:55:43
In reply to Re: We need placebo, posted by SLS on July 30, 2005, at 10:19:03
> I am not convinced that placebo controls are necessary for medical research. Like I said, there is much debate surrounding this issue.
I'm sure pharmaceutical companies would love such a scheme. Wouldn't exclusion of placebo controls result in a high likelihood that ineffective antidepressants/anxiolytics and other drugs be unnecessarily foisted on the public?
Also not to downplay Dr. Quitkin's findings but even his recent study excluded patients over 65 and those with very severe depression. Dr. Quitkin has also had some associations with Pfizer and been a speaker and on advisory board for Eli Lilly.
As a pharmacy student, I'm really having trouble to know what the "truth" is wrt efficacy of a given medication and what is best for the patient since trials funded by pharmaceutical companies rarely produce unfavourable results. I'm becoming more skeptical of not just the efficacy of many psychotropics but also anti-cholesterol and anti-hypertensive drugs. Can research funded by pharmaceutical companies truly be unbiased or are medical journals becoming an extension of the marketiung arm of pharmaceutical companies as some researchers/academics have argued? Dunno...And I'm saying this even though I do believe that certain drugs are extremely useful and life-changfing for patients. For example, I've had great relief with benzos for my anxiety whereas SSRIS and CBT were totally useless.
poster:Kon
thread:534296
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050728/msgs/535997.html