[The 60th anniversary of the first open heart surgery in Hungary is shortly celebrated by the Hungarian cardiac surgeons, who held their annual meeting in Pécs. The conference on recent professional and scientific results and innovations of the Hungarian cardiac surgical centres provided an opportunity for healthcare professionals (including the perfusionists unique in this field) to report on their current professional results and experiences within scientific lectures and discussions.]

[The article deals with the question where and when is it ethically acceptable in a randomized controlled clinical trial to give the investigational drug to one of the groups, while placebo to the other. First, it gives a short overview on the origin of the problem and the history of its reemergence before and after the revision of the Declaration of Helsinki 2000. It examines the various forms of placebo use, the pros and cons of its implementation, the international debate before the revision of the Declaration of Helsinki 2000 and the corrections after its acceptance. Finally it declares some principles in connection with placebo controlled clinical trials and examines when such a trial is acceptable in various psychiatric disorders.]