I Might Be Part of History!

[*wildcats forever*]

(04-19-2017, 03:51 PM)fredtoast Wrote: I am no expert, but I believe that if you know whether or not you have the placebo then the study is not valid.

In fact, even if the doctors know then it is not valid.

It has to be "double blind".

I'm a little limited on time today to pursue this in depth, but I found that the use of placebos in general are ethically-challenged by some in the scientific community, let alone having an option to 'buy your way out' of taking one. Consider the info contained within this article (http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic205128.files/NEJM_--_The_Continuing_Unethical_Use_of_Placebo_Controls.pdf ), then maybe Google some more for additional info on the topic.

I'll follow up on this when I can, but I currently feel any study that allows you to skew the results by paying serious money to opt out isn't a study that I'd be interested in being a participant.