Abstract:
Placebo-controlled, acute treatment trials in schizophrenia enroll acutely symptomatic persons, randomize them to receive placebo or antipsychotic medication for several weeks, and evaluate whether symptoms improve. These trials can have scientific benefits, especially when they test drugs with novel mechanisms of action. However, the use of placebo is ethically problematic inasmuch as standard treatment is withheld and participants are subjected to prolonged psychotic symptoms and associated risks. We propose that both deontological (duty-based) and utilitarian analyses are relevant, that it may be impossible to satisfy the ideals of both frameworks, and that researchers who conduct these trials will unavoidably encounter ethical tension and criticism even when they give careful attention to ethical aspects of study design.
摘要:
安慰剂控制,精神分裂症的急性治疗试验招募有急性症状的人,随机化他们接受安慰剂或抗精神病药物治疗数周,并评估症状是否改善。这些试验有科学益处,特别是当他们测试具有新作用机制的药物时。然而,安慰剂的使用在伦理上是有问题的,因为标准治疗被拒绝,参与者会出现长期的精神病症状和相关风险.我们建议道义论(基于职责)和功利主义分析都是相关的,可能不可能满足这两个框架的理想,进行这些试验的研究人员将不可避免地遇到伦理紧张和批评,即使他们仔细关注研究设计的伦理方面。