Understanding Common Causes Of Failure in Depression Studies

The failure rate of clinical studies in depression is high, and placebo response is often blamed. Dr. Jack Modell, a board certified psychiatrist with more than 35 years of experience in clinical research and patient care, discusses why there is more to the story than placebo response, including: • Inclusion of subjects that have depressive symptoms, but don't truly meet the criteria for major depressive disorder • The reliability of human raters • Properly defined study objectives Additionally, Dr. Modell addresses steps that can be taken to avoid these pitfalls.