Baseline Reliability and Early Response in MDD Trials

Double-blind, placebo-controlled trials in major depressive disorder (MDD) often face challenges in distinguishing drug efficacy from placebo response.

Factors like patient motivation, clinician rating reliability, and trial design significantly impact outcomes.

This article examines the critical role of baseline reliability and the effects of early symptomatic response post-randomization, which can impede signal detection. It also introduces ecological momentary assessment as an innovative method to enhance baseline measurement reliability.

Read the full article to explore strategies for optimizing trial outcomes in MDD research.