August 13, 2026
“What goes wrong in a placebo arm is usually not a side effect but time spent not getting better, and how expensive that time is depends on the diagnosis.”
“The digital placebo effect reported here is a within-arm change in the control group, which means expectancy is one of several processes packed into a single number.”
“The primary outcome found nothing, and the number everyone will quote was judged outside the blinding, by the therapists delivering the treatment, partly on the patient's own report.”
“The developer funded the investigation, blinding was never tested, and the registry, filed after the trial had closed, lists two primary outcomes where the paper reports one.”
“An inert tablet produced a little under half the measured improvement, and the abstract puts adverse events at 44.44 percent in that same control column.”
“Only 2 of the 34 recommendations carry the strongest recommendation class, and even those rest on level B evidence, which the document prints in the same table as the advice.”