a study that gives a harmless imitation of a drug to a designated number of people as a reference for others taking the drug being studied.
A kind of study in which the experimental treatment being tested is compared to no treatment at all.
A term used to describe a method of research in which an inactive substance (a placebo) is given to one group of participants, while the treatment (usually a drug or vaccine) being tested is given to another group. The results obtained in the two groups are then compared to see if the investigational treatment is more effective than the placebo.
A study where a group of volunteers gets a medicine and another group, called the control, gets a placebo.
A trial in which the effectiveness of the drug is compared to that of a placebo.
Refers to a clinical study in which the "control" patients receive a placebo, or inert medication or procedure. The experience of the control group of patients is compared with that of the patients who received the investigational drug to determine the safety and efficacy of the therapy being studied.
In this type of study, an equal number of subjects are given either a particular medication (or treatment), or a placebo. A placebo is a harmless, inactive substitute. The use of a placebo helps researchers to quantify the actual effect of the medication or treatment vs. the perceived effect (placebo effect). When placebos are used, the subjects are not told which of them are taking the placebo, and which of them are receiving the medication being tested. In a double-blinded, placebo-controlled study, neither subjects nor researchers are told (see above).
Refers to a method of studying a drug or dietary supplement in which a placebo (an inactive ingredient) is given to one group of participants, and the drug or dietary supplement being tested is given to a second group of participants. Results from the two groups are compared to see if the drug or dietary supplement being tested works better than the placebo.