Posted by ttee on July 14, 2006, at 13:09:49
In reply to Re: couldn't have said it better myself » linkadge, posted by SLS on July 10, 2006, at 21:34:12
Off course Mirtazapine and Nortriptyline did not fare well in the Star*D study, as they are both off patent and the scientist don't have to worry about a drug company cutting off their funding.
> > Language, and heated tone asside, he made some very valid points. Why was a placebo arm not used?
>
> I don't believe it was the goal of the study to separate out an active treatment from a placebo. It was an attempt to test treatment algorithms in real-world clinical settings and determine treatment success rates. Placebo response rates in double-blind clinical trials are already well established.
>
> > Were thay afraid of what it might show ?
>
> What makes you think that they would be afraid to show anything? More conspiracy theories? They certainly weren't afraid to show the dismal results of the third step of their treatment algorithm. Neither mirtazapine nor nortriptyline monotherapy produced a remission rate of 20% for those who had failed to respond adequately to the two previous steps. Their reporting was manifestly unbiased. There was no attempt made to declare any of the treatments used as producing a remission rate of greater than 50%.
>
>
> - Scott
>
poster:ttee
thread:662854
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060709/msgs/667058.html