Dying Organs Restored to Life in Novel Experiments

Re:Dying Organs Restored to Life in Novel Experiments by Engineering-MD on Monday July 16, 2018 @07:17AM (#17540350)

In clinical trials, pure placebos are very rarely used (only in mild conditions or where no treatment exists). Commonly novel therapies are compared against the current treatment of choice.

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Re:Dying Organs Restored to Life in Novel Experiments by michaelscott on Monday July 16, 2018 @07:54AM (#17540541)

I was about to ask how ethical it could be to give a pure placebo in cases as serious as heart failure, when simply telling the patient (or the patient's family) that they received some other more conventional procedure should produce similar results.

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Re:Dying Organs Restored to Life in Novel Experiments by nine_k on Monday July 16, 2018 @08:54AM (#17540900)

I think this is never done. I suppose both groups receive two therapies, one of them being the best available therapy for the condition, and the other either the new therapy, or a placebo.

This requires new and old therapies to be compatible, though.

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Re:Dying Organs Restored to Life in Novel Experiments by ceejayoz on Monday July 16, 2018 @10:22AM (#17541434)

Studies will also be suspended if it becomes clear that one treatment is so obviously better as to be unethical to continue with the other.

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