School Performance and Theophylline

Abstract

In Reply.— Mr Schriver's first concern is the appropriate interpretation of results from placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trials. Our understanding is that the function of the placebo-treated group is to provide a control against which to judge the effect of the treatment. It is not particularly unusual to observe an "effect" in the placebo "arm" of such a controlled study, and we would consider it inappropriate to emphasize the effect in either arm considered by itself other than in reference to the planning and interpretation of such trials.