In the future this sort of thing will inevitably be viewed the way we view bloodletting with razors and leeches -- if not more harshly. They didn't know any be

In the future this sort of thing will inevitably be viewed the way we view bloodletting with razors and leeches -- if not more harshly. They didn't know any better, way back when. We ought to know better. It's as simple as this: Double-blind, placebo-controlled studies are absolutely not required in drugs that are have extremely large effect sizes. In these cases, open-label trials, compassionate use programs, and post-marketing surveillance can be employed to continue gathering data on safety and efficacy without denying any patients access to critical treatments. And, in the end, the data you gather is just as useful, if not more useful.