Sugar pills, no lies: could Open-Placebo ease teen depression?
NCT ID NCT04201106
First seen Jul 29, 2026 · Last updated Jul 30, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tests whether placebo pills taken knowingly — called open-label placebo — can reduce depression symptoms in unmedicated teens aged 13–18 with mild to moderate depression. Participants take placebo pills for two weeks while researchers use brain scans to see if the treatment activates areas linked to mood and stress. The goal is to understand if honest placebos work and how they might affect the brain.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- open-label placebo pills (sugar pills taken knowingly) with a rationale explaining the placebo effect
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a safe, side-effect-free option for teens with mild to moderate depression.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very small early study with only 16 participants, so results may not apply widely. The placebo effect is unpredictable, and depression is serious — teens should not stop standard care.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
-
Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
-
16 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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May 2020
- Finished
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Apr 2022
- Lead sponsor
-
Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
-
13 to 18 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: The investigators will include adolescents with mild to moderate depression who meet the following criteria. * Unmedicated 13-18 year-old adolescents of both sexes with mild to moderate depression, i.e. depressive symptoms corresponding to RADS-2 t-scores of 61-69, under the care of a mental health professional or a primary care doctor. * Fluency in English Exclusion Criteria: * Subjects younger or older than 13-18 years old. * Psychiatric comorbidities other than anxiety disorder, severe suicidal ideation * MRI contraindications (ferromagnetic objects on or inside the body, e.g. braces) and pregnancy. * Potential subjects with an inability or unwillingness to give written informed assent whose legal guardian/representative are unable or unwilling to give written informed consent will be excluded and not allowed to enroll in the study.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
-
UCSF
San Francisco, California, 94143, United States
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