open-label

alternative open label

1. not comparablebiologyNot withholding information from the participants of a clinical trial, as opposed to double-blind.

   In another blow to the concept that concealment is required for placebo effects, my team recently published a study comparing open-label placebos and double-blind placebos in irritable bowel syndrome and found no significant difference between the two.

   2023 October 10, Ted J. Kaptchuk, “No Better Than a Placebo”, in The New York Times, retrieved 10 Sep 2026

   2 more examples

   The company said it found that people who received the vaccine earlier had more than a 50 percent higher rate of symptomatic breakthrough infections in July and August, compared with those who were inoculated later. The unpublished analysis is from the so-called open-label portion of Moderna’s trial, after the participants who had been given a placebo were offered the actual vaccine. Since the trial is no longer blinded, this type of additional analysis is considered less rigorous than the original study.

   2021 September 15, Robert Langreth, “Moderna says analysis shows COVID vaccine immunity may wane”, in The Boston Globe, retrieved 10 Sep 2026

   Trademarked placebo pills such as Zeebo are also available, although they have not been tested in clinical trials. To me, what suggests a path forward are the small clinical trials of so-called open-label placebos (OLPs) – in which the patient knows they are receiving a placebo and the rationale for how they can work is explained. The trials, for conditions such as back pain, cancer-related fatigue and IBS, report significant benefit of OLPs compared with no treatment.

   2022 October 8, Zoë Corbyn, quoting Kathryn T Hall, “Placebos expert Kathryn T Hall: ‘The effect can rival painkillers like ibuprofen or even morphine’”, in The Guardian, retrieved 10 Sep 2026