Ds. Goodin, Perils and pitfalls in the interpretation of clinical trials: A reflectionon the recent experience in multiple sclerosis, NEUROEPIDEM, 18(2), 1999, pp. 53-63
Therapeutic trials in multiple sclerosis, in part because of the marked int
ra- and interindividual variability of its clinical course, are prone to se
rious flaws in both design and interpretation. As a consequence, it has bee
n a common historical pattern that treatment regimens, which are enthusiast
ically recommended at one point in time, are later proven to be ineffective
by more definitive studies. This review considers several recently publish
ed therapeutic trials in order to exemplify some of the difficulties that c
ommonly arise in this area of clinical research.