Ethical challenges raised by osteoporosis-related clinical trials

Abstract

Osteoporosis has a significant economy, society, and health burden. The recent advancement of available therapies caused ethical questions regarding the use of placebo-controlled studies in osteoporosis. Some specialists believe it is not ethically to subject the study participants to any additional risk when there is already verified effective therapy for the disease and established therapies can significantly decrease the likelihood of osteoporotic fracture. Accordingly, researchers have expressed ethical concerns over placebo-controlled trials. Here, we have briefly addressed ethical and methodological aspects regarding conducting placebo-control trials as well as potential alternatives.

Keywords

• Osteoporosis; Placebo; Trial design; Ethics.