Use of Placebo Controls in Clinical Trials Disputed

摘要

When it comes to clinical trials, few issue? are simple. And many are controversial (Science, 10 June 1994, p. 1534). The most recent example is a debate in this week's New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). At issue: Is it ethical to compare a potential new disease treatment with inactive placebo controls if an accepted treatment for the disorder already exists? As a collection of a dozen letters in the 5 January issue of NEJM shows, there is little agreement on the' answer. Many scientists say noand blame the government for requiring such controls, while some federal officials say that the present system isn't perfect but that the suggested alternatives are worse.