Are the results of open randomised controlled trials comparing antipsychotic drugs in schizophrenia biased? Exploratory meta- and subgroup analysis.

A recent meta-epidemiological study did not reveal major differences between the results of blinded and open randomised-controlled trials (RCTs). Fewer patients may consent to double-blind RCTs than to open RCTs, compromising generalisability, making this question very important. However, the issue has not been addressed in schizophrenia.

The Brief negative Symptom Scale (BNSS): a systematic review of measurement properties.

Background: Negative symptoms of schizophrenia are linked with poor functioning and quality of life. Therefore, appropriate measurement tools to assess negative symptoms are needed. The NIMH-MATRICS Consensus defined five domains for negative symptoms, which The Brief Negative Symptom Scale (BNSS) covers.

Disconnection of drug-response and placebo-response in acute-phase antipsychotic drug trials on schizophrenia? Meta-regression analysis.

Differences in efficacy between antipsychotics and placebo in schizophrenia trials have decreased over the past decades. Previous studies have tried to identify potential explanatory factors focusing on response to placebo; however, it is still not clear which factors, if any, specifically moderate drug-response, as they may be different from those moderating placebo-response. Therefore, in this meta-regression analysis we explore whether there is an interaction between drug-response and placebo-response in terms of effect size.

60 years of placebo-controlled antipsychotic drug trials in acute schizophrenia: Meta-regression of predictors of placebo response.

Objective: A recent meta-regression had shown that the degree of placebo response, which has increased over the decades, is the major predictor of drug-placebo differences in antipsychotic drug trials in acutely ill patients with schizophrenia. Drug response, however, had remained stable. In the current meta-regression we explored the factors that are associated with placebo-response.