The Clinical Trials Guru

First of all, most clinical trials use a placebo (sugar pill) of some sort when a new drug is tested. In simpler terms, by joining a study that is for a non-life threatening condition, a placebo may be used to better determine how the study drug works when compared to an inactive ingredient (placebo). Many people are understandably concerned about what may happen to their medical condition if they end up being randomly assigned to receive a placebo when they join a study. In this video I explain what tools study doctors have to minimize any serious deterioration of the medical condition one may experience if taking placebo. Remember, the first duty of a study doctor is to cause no harm to the trial participant. I have seen many study participants who very well may have been on placebo (remember the study staff nor the trial participant know what the participant is receiving) do very well while in the study. Some may even be convinced that they were not on placebo when in fact they were. Hope this video helps alleviate some concerns regarding placebos, but remember, if you dont think you can tolerate being on a placebo for your current medical condition, you probably shouldn’t consider joining that trial in the first place. Always ask your physician for his opinion.