Placebo predictions

Clinical trials of antidepressants often start with what’s called a placebo lead-in phase. During this brief period, patients receive only inert pills so that their bodies will cleanse themselves of any drugs taken earlier. But placebo lead-in might also help clinicians predict how a patient will respond to actual medication, researchers now report.

Aimee M. Hunter and her colleagues from the University of California, Los Angeles studied 51 adults with major depression.