A placebo is treatment without any active medication that is given as a control to some of the patients in certain types of clinical trials (studies). For example, a placebo in a clinical trial of a new oral pill would consist of a pill containing only inactive substances. A placebo in a clinical trial of a new injectable medication would consist of an injection containing only inactive substances.
A placebo-controlled clinical trial compares the effectiveness of a new medication to no medication.
The placebo arm of a placebo-controlled clinical trial consists of patients receiving the placebo. The experimental arm of a placebo-controlled clinical trial consists of patients receiving the experimental treatment (e.g., new medication under investigation).
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