Publications

Placebo effects are positive outcomes that are not due to active treatment components, which may be elicited even when patients are aware of receiving an inert substance (open-label). This proof-of-principle study investigated for the first time whether open-label placebo effects on itch can be induced by verbal suggestions alone. Ninety-two healthy volunteers were randomized to experimental (open-label suggestions) or control (no suggestions) ...

The terminal complement inhibitor eculizumab was shown to improve myasthenia gravis-related symptoms in the 26-week, phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled REGAIN study (NCT01997229). In this 52-week sub-analysis of the open-label extension of REGAIN (NCT02301624), eculizumab's efficacy and safety were assessed in 11 Japanese and 88 Caucasian patients with anti-acetylcholine receptor antibody-positive refractory generalized ...

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: We hypothesised that islet beta cell antigen presentation in the gut along with a tolerising cytokine would lead to antigen-specific tolerance in type 1 diabetes. We evaluated this in a parallel open-label Phase 1b study using oral AG019, food-grade Lactococcus lactis bacteria genetically modified to express human proinsulin and human IL-10, as a monotherapy and in a parallel, randomised, double-blind Phase 2a study using AG019 ...

BACKGROUND: Risankizumab, an anti-interleukin 23 antibody, was superior to placebo in achieving clinical and endoscopic remission at week 12 in a randomised, phase 2 induction study in patients with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease. Here we aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of extended intravenous induction and subcutaneous maintenance therapy with risankizumab. METHODS: All patients who completed the 12-week induction phase ...

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate the long-term efficacy and safety of obeticholic acid for patients with primary biliary cholangitis using 3-year interim data from the 5-year open-label extension of the pivotal phase 3 POISE trial. METHODS: In the double-blind phase of POISE, 217 patients with primary biliary cholangitis with inadequate response to or intolerance to ursodeoxycholic acid were randomised to receive placebo, ...

A 2-year, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in men with osteoporosis demonstrated that treatment with risedronate 35mg once a week significantly decreased bone turnover markers (BTMs) and increased bone mineral density (BMD). This study was extended to include a 2-year, open-label extension to continue to assess the safety and efficacy of risedronate in men with osteoporosis. In the open-label extension, all patients received ...

Objective To evaluate whether eculizumab helps patients with anti-acetylcholine receptor-positive (AChR+) refractory generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG) achieve the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America (MGFA) post-intervention status of minimal manifestations (MM), we assessed patients' status throughout REGAIN (Safety and Efficacy of Eculizumab in AChR+ Refractory Generalized Myasthenia Gravis) and its open-label extension. Methods Patients ...

Regulatory authorities prefer double-blind studies, but do not state that these are the only trial designs with regulatory value. The additional problems encountered when VKAs are the comparator are acknowledged, and this will remain an issue for several years to come, as VKAs will not be easily overtaken. A package comprising both open-label and double-blind pivotal randomised trials, preferably with internal consistency, offers the highest ...