3 ms·
Imagine having Parkinsons and being in the placebo control group.
by oefnak 3y ago
Imagine having Parkinsons and being in the placebo control group.
- chris-orgmenta 3y agoIf a treatment in a placebo controlled study shows a vast improvement over placebo, the studies are sometimes finished early and are considered 'unethical to continue'. e.g. HAART for HIV/AIDS.
- wyldfire 3y agoToday we should assume that it's harmless to get the placebo. Only if a trial shows extraordinary consistent benefit without drawbacks would they stop it because the placebo group is harmed for lack of access to the treatment.
- DavidPiper 3y agoI used to share this sentiment for Parkinsons and other currently-intractable conditions. I still do sometimes, depending on the circumstances of the patient in question. But the thing that stopped me generalising this was seeing second-hand that trialing a new treatment can be extraordinarily dangerous (and/or fatal). Imagine being in the experiment group and the untested treatment being a catastrophic failure.
- NobleLie 3y agoImagine symptoms improving being in the placebo group? What are the statistics on that?
- mypalmike 3y agoBeing part of a rigorous process by which a cure may be found? Sign me up.
- Cthulhu_ 3y agoYou're thinking that even a gamble on untested / unverified treatment might improve their lives; it might, but it might also do nothing, make it work, or worst case kill them. But I get it. My partner has an untreatable condition (like EDS, but without the genetic markers); they'd jump on any kind of hope, even experimental at this point.