Placebo
hideA placebo is a sham medical intervention. In one common placebo procedure, a patient is given an inert sugar pill, told that it may improve his/her condition, but not told that it is in fact inert. Such an intervention may cause the patient to believe the treatment will change his/her condition; and this belief does indeed sometimes have a therapeutic effect, causing the patient's condition to improve. This phenomenon is known as the placebo effect.
Placebos are widely used in medicine, and the placebo effect is a pervasive phenomenon; in fact, it is part of the response to any active medication. However, the deceptive nature of the placebo creates tension between the Hippocratic Oath and the honesty of the doctor-patient relationship. The placebo effect points to the importance of perception and the brain's role in physical health.
Since the publication of Henry K. Beecher's The Powerful Placebo in 1955 the phenomenon has been considered to have clinically important effects. This view was notably challenged when in 2001 a systematic review of clinical trials concluded that there was no evidence of clinically important effects, except perhaps in the treatment of pain and continuous subjective outcomes. The article received a flurry of criticism, but the authors later published a Cochrane review with similar conclusions. Most studies have attributed the difference from baseline till the end of the trial to a placebo effect, but the reviewers examined studies which had both placebo and untreated groups in order to distinguish the placebo effect from the natural progression of the disease.
For more information about Placebo, read the full article at
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News tagged with placebo
Drug for Alzheimer's disease does not appear to slow cognitive decline
Medicine & Health / Medications
Dec 15, 2009 |
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Although there were promising results in a phase 2 trial, patients with mild Alzheimer disease who received the drug tarenflurbil as part of a phase 3 trial did not have better outcomes on measures of cognitive decline or ...
Study confirms that cannabis is beneficial for multiple sclerosis
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Dec 04, 2009 |
5 / 5 (20) |
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Cannabis can reduce spasticity in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. A systematic review, published in the open access journal BMC Neurology, found that five out six randomized controlled trials reported a reduction in spa ...
Bone marrow cells may significantly reduce risk of second heart attack
Dec 08, 2009 |
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Cells from heart attack survivors' own bone marrow reduced the risk of death or another heart attack when they were infused into the affected artery after successful stent placement, according to research reported in the ...
Vaccine being developed to help smokers quit
Medicine & Health / Medications
Nov 20, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Glaxo-SmithKline has joined forces with Nabi Pharmaceuticals to produce a vaccine to help smokers give up their addiction permanently.
FDA confirms benefits of Crestor in more patients
Medicine & Health / Medications
Dec 11, 2009 |
4 / 5 (1) |
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(AP) -- Federal scientists say AstraZeneca's cholesterol pill Crestor lowers the risk of heart attack, death and stroke in patients without a history of heart disease, though some safety concerns remain.
Over-the-counter eye drops raise concern over antibiotic resistance
Medicine & Health / Medications
Nov 27, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The use of antibiotic eye drops for conjunctivitis has increased by almost half since they became available over the counter at chemists in 2005, data obtained by Oxford University researchers ...
Treating cluster headaches with high-flow oxygen appears effective
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Dec 08, 2009 |
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Patients with a cluster headache, which is characterized by bouts of excruciating pain usually near the eye or temple, were more likely to report being pain-free within 15 minutes of treatment with high-flow oxygen than patients ...
Antioxidant compound reduced incidence of colorectal metachronous adenomas
Dec 08, 2009 |
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Supplementation with a selenium-based antioxidant compound decreased the risk of developing new polyps of the large bowel — called colorectal metachronous adenomas — in people who previously had colorectal polyps removed.
Can heart disease treatments combat AMD?
Dec 01, 2009 |
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Can treatments that reduce risks for cardiovascular disease (CVD) also help combat age-related macular degeneration (AMD), an eye disease that affects millions of Americans? CVD and AMD share some risk factors-such as smoking, ...
Does a placebo gene exist?
Nov 30, 2009 |
4 / 5 (1) |
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A short time ago, Swedish scientists published a paper suggesting the existence of a genetic disposition to respond to placebo, thus giving rise to debate in the media about a possible "placebo gene." In the current issue ...
Researchers to test first gene therapy For Alzheimer's patients
Nov 17, 2009 |
4 / 5 (1) |
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Mount Sinai School of Medicine is one of 12 sites nationwide participating in the first Phase 2 clinical trial to test gene therapy treatment for Alzheimer's disease. The study is the first multicenter neurosurgical intervention ...
