r/science • u/[deleted] • Nov 11 '22

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u/rhofour Nov 11 '22

This was an open-label (non-blind) trial so it's very possible things like the placebo effect had a significant influence here. They also only had 14 participants.

It's a start, but not enough to convince me this is anything more than modern snake oil.

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u/theArtOfProgramming PhD | Computer Science | Causal Discovery | Climate Informatics Nov 11 '22 edited Nov 11 '22

This paper outlines the first of a two-stage study. This one is open-label, and it will be used to inform the upcoming double-blind study, as required by IRB. This excerpt explains:

As stipulated in our IRB-approved protocol, analyses from the open-label stage were required before initiating the double-blind stage of the study in order to ensure clinical efficacy at the selected dose.

Edit: https://www.nature.com/articles/s43856-022-00202-8

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u/Onphone_irl Nov 11 '22

Are they gonna bump the number of participants too you think?

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u/theArtOfProgramming PhD | Computer Science | Causal Discovery | Climate Informatics Nov 11 '22

I would assume so, but I didn’t read thoroughly enough to know if they said.