What Is A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial?
A randomzied double-blind, placebo-controlled clincial trial is the “standard” scientific way of conducting high quality medical studies to determine the real effectiveness of a treatment (.e.g., a new drug). Performing an experiment in double-blind fashion lessens the influence of prejudices and unintentional physical cues (i.e., the placebo effect and observer’s bias) on the results. In a double-blind experiment, neither the subjects nor the researchers know who belongs to the experimental group or who belongs to the placebo group. This is achieved by formulating the investigational compound(s) and the placebo to have identical appearance in the dosage form (e.g., shape, size, color, taste, and weight). Patients are randomly assigned to the placebo or experimental group and given random numbers by a third party, which is not given to the researchers until the study is over. Only after all the data has been recorded (and in some cases, analyzed) do the researchers learn which individu
