What is a Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study?
Considered the “gold standard” for testing potential adverse reactions to a substance, double-blind placebo-controlled studies provide dependable findings that are free of bias introduced by either the patient or the researcher. In this type of study, neither the subject nor the researcher conducting the study knows whether the test substance or a placebo has been administered. For the results to be valid and to ensure the subject cannot violate the “blindness”, the placebo and the test substance must look, smell and taste similar, if not identical. The “blindness” of the study is crucial. It eliminates the possibility of a participant’s personal beliefs to undermine the study’s validity, as well as the researcher’s expectations to influence the test results. In 1986, Kenney conducted a double-blind placebo controlled investigation of subjects who believed they adversely reacted to MSG. Subjects were given a soft drink solution for four days, and on two of the days the solution contain
