Placebos in schizphrenia trials increasingly effective
By Ian Birch
Researchers have expressed concern about how more and more schizophrenia studies are showing placebos to be as effective as the drugs themselves, questioning whether there could've been a pharmaceutical bias in the past, or if patients taking part in clinical trials are less unwell than in earlier studies.
The USA FDA study analysed 32 clinical trials between 1991 and 2008 -- all as a result of applications for market approval of second-generation anti-psychotics.
In the jargon, those given the new drugs showed fewer "treatment effects" over those on placebos than trials in the 1990s.
The researchers say they are concerned not that the drugs are less effective, but that the trial results mean the drugs are less likely to be approved and marketed than in the past, because they are appearing to be less effective.
There is of course a long debate dating back to the anti-psychiatry movement as to how effective psychiatric medication is and it's no longer automatic that someone who meets an early intervention in psychosis team will be prescribed long-term (e.g. lifelong) anti-psychotics, as it was in the past.
Mind's publications unit has for a long time sold books and leaflets challenging conventional psychiatric wisdom about medication -- although we would never advise anyone to change their medication without the advice of a qualified medical professional. It's important to note that withdrawal from anti-psychotics can cause rebound psychosis (i.e. the process of drug withdrawal in itself can cause a relapse in many people) so please seek personalised medical advice if considering any change to your medication.
You can read the full study in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.
