The NYTimes reports today that the editors of several major medical journals, including The Journal of the American Medical Association, The New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet and The Annals of Internal Medicine "are expected to begin requiring that drug trials be registered at the outset as a prerequisite for the subsequent publication of their results. Requiring such registration as a condition for reaching the journals' vast audience of doctors would make it difficult for drug companies to hide the results of unflattering tests - as some have been accused of doing."

Experts have long criticized the tendency in the industry to publish only positive clinical trials, arguing that this distorts medical practice and undermines the scientific process. Indeed, we cannot practice evidence based medicine unless we have access to all the evidence. Withholding such data is disingenuous at least, and more likely dangerous to patient care.

For more insight on this topic check out pharmaceutical blogger, Derek Lowe who has been covering this issue over the past year with a particular focus on Paxil and placebos. I recommend his column if you haven't read it recently.