Gøtzsche was commenting on a paper in the same journal by Erick Turner, M.D., and assistant professor of psychiatry and pharmacology at Oregon Health Sciences University.
Turner and colleagues reviewed 20 published trials of eight second-generation antipsychotics and found only a nonsignificant difference in outcomes. However, the effect size for another four unpublished trials (0.23) was barely half that of the published trials (0.47) and achieved statistical significance. "Without increased access to regulatory-agency data, publication bias will continue to blur distinctions between effective and ineffective drugs,” wrote Turner and colleagues.
To read more about possible bias in publication of clinical trials of antipsychotics, see Psychiatric News here.
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