High placebo response in pediatric headache clinical trials

Christina Szperka, MD, FAHS, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, highlights how clinical trials in pediatric headache populations can be hindered by a high rate of placebo response.
This means that medications shown to benefit more severe, refractory patients in clinical settings are not shown in studies to have better outcomes than a placebo. In more creative trials, like those using a placebo lead-in, greater benefit was seen from these medications. Dr Szperka highlights that children’s expectation of benefit can be high, and while this can be beneficial to children on an individual level, this issue needs to be overcome in clinical trial settings to ensure that medications that help children can be approved. This interview took place at the American Headache Society (AHS) Annual Meeting 2024 in San Diego, CA.
These works are owned by Magdalen Medical Publishing (MMP) and are protected by copyright laws and treaties around the world. All rights are reserved.