Placebos And How They Are Used In Clinical Research

An inactive treatment or drug used in clinical trials is known as a placebo. Another term commonly used for a placebo is sugar pill or dummy treatment. A placebo is used in placebo-controlled trials to evaluate the effectiveness of potential new treatments. Participants are carefully monitored by clinical trial staff to compare the effectiveness of the study treatment in if those assigned to receive active study medication versus those assigned to receive a placebo. When a placebo is utilized in a clinical trial, it is done with the participant's full knowledge that there's a chance that they will receive a placebo instead of the active study medication. Placebos are not often used in cancer clinical trials. When a placebo is used, it is given along with conventional therapies so that volunteers at least have the benefit of receiving the best standard treatment available to treat their cancer.

What Is a Placebo-Controlled Trial?

Numerous clinical studies necessitate the use of a placebo. Placebo-controlled research means that some patients will receive the study medication while others will receive a placebo. It allows researchers to compare the two groups to determine whether the medication under consideration is safe, and effective.. A Single-blinded placebo-controlled trial is one where study center staff know which participants have been assigned to the placebo group. In double-blinded placebo-controlled trials, neither the patient nor the study center staff know which participants are receiving a placebo.

Mechanism of Action of the Placebo

A placebo is a harmless material or practice, and should not be able to elicit effects or improve a study participant's medical condition. However, a phenomenon known as the "placebo effect" (or reaction) can occur and the study participant may perceive that they are feeling better or worse. However, it is unlikely that the placebo itself is responsible for these perceptions. A variety of psychological mechanisms such as expectation, memory, learning, physical concentration, and anxiety reduction can all contribute to the placebo effect.

What Can We Learn from Placebos in Clinical Trials?

The use of placebos in clinical trials can yield important information about a potential new treatment. For example, early clinical trials showed that an herbal supplement, ginkgo Biloba, could help to delay dementia. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded a 6-year Phase 3 clinical trial with more than 3,000 senior citizens to find out. After the study, researchers observed that there were no significant differences in the development of dementia in those who got ginko Biloba and those who received a placebo.

How Do I Know If I'm Taking a Placebo?

Volunteers in clinical trials take placebos in many circumstances. Prior to officially joining the study, they are informed of the possibility of receiving a placebo, However, during study, they do not actually know if they have been randomly assigned to the placebo group or not. When people aren't sure if they are getting the study treatment or a placebo, the results are more accurate. Likewise, medical staff at the study center may or may not be permitted to know which participants are receiving a placebo. This is because knowing what treatment participants are receiving could accidentally impact the outcome of a clinical trial.

For example, suppose a doctor monitoring the trial is convinced that the study treatment is superior to what is already available. In that case, they may unconsciously pay more attention to patients receiving the study treatment versus the placebo.

If you are interested in joining a study, you can use ClinicalConnection.com to search clinical trials near you and learn more about what is available.

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