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Beryl Lieff Benderly discusses the potential dangers of relying on double-blind clinical trials, which she sees as damaging the chances for patients in dire need of getting treatments. She also talks about why she thinks too many researchers are looking at what placebos aren't doing, as opposed to what they are. Her latest article, "Head Games," is in the current issue of Miller-McCune.

Vanity Fair contributing editors Donald L. Barlett and James Steele talk about the rise of pharmaceutical testing overseas, where it’s cheap and regulation-free. In “Deadly Medicine,” in the January issue of Vanity Fair magazine, they look at the issues this latest step in globalization raises.

We often hear about successful medical drug clinical trials, and assume that such trials frequently test "magic bullet" cures. Nearly every trial, however, requires a control group: people who are not given the new drugs and, thus, don't benefit from them if they are later proven to work.  Many doctors, researchers and patients are asking questions about the fairness of maintaining these control groups, once a given drug being tested has positive results.

Within certain circles, this Vera Institute investigation was long awaited. It was commissioned by the city in 2005 after several stories broke claiming that the Administration for Children's Services had used black and Latino kids as Guinea pigs and was placing them in foster care if their parents would not agree to the drug trials.

The investigation found no evidence of this. It did however find plenty of sloppy record keeping. There were no parental consent forms for 21 percent of the 532 kids in the drug trials. Yes, even if your kids get taken into foster care, you still have a right to make medical decisions for them. Unless of course your parental rights have been terminated, then the Commissioner of ACS has authority. Some of these consent forms may be with the state, but we don't know, because the Department of Health, citing confidentiality concerns, refused to release medical records.