Several studies that found major antipsychotic drugs to be equally or less effective than placebos went unpublished in scientific journals, were difficult to find, and omitted unfavorable data, skewing perception of the drugs’ efficacy, researchers with Oregon Health and Science University reported. –ARK

MedPage Today:

Of 24 registration trials involving eight products submitted to the FDA, four went unpublished in medical journals — three of which found that the study drug’s efficacy was equivalent to placebo or inferior to an active comparator, according to Erick H. Turner, MD, of Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, and colleagues.

Moreover, five of the 20 published trials “showed some evidence of outcome reporting bias,” the researchers wrote online in PLoS Medicine.

… “Selective reporting of research results undermines the integrity of the evidence base, which ultimately deprives clinicians of accurate data for prescribing decisions,” [researchers] wrote.

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