Sense and nonsense: an essay on schizophrenia research ethics

In this essay, the authors select topics from the current debate on the ethics of schizophrenia research. Accepting competent and voluntary informed consent as essential for most projects, the authors discuss the relation of diagnosis to decisional capacity, the respective roles of psychosis and cognitive impairments in decisional capacity, and whether impairments in capacity can be remediated. The roles of investigator, external agent, patient subject, and family or surrogate in the informed consent process are reviewed. A lack of understanding of the treatment of persons with schizophrenia has distorted and inflamed public discussion of issues such as 'withholding treatment'. A standard, based in common sense, is proposed: for viewing protocols; for allowing autonomy and altruism despite diagnostic class; and, for a meaningful discussion of what is meant by and what should be done about 'risk without direct benefit' protocols.