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
Vaccine being developed to help smokers quit
Medicine & Health / Medications
Nov 20, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (15) |
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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.
Study confirms that cannabis is beneficial for multiple sclerosis
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Dec 04, 2009 |
5 / 5 (7) |
0
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 ...
Over-the-counter eye drops raise concern over antibiotic resistance
Medicine & Health / Medications
Nov 27, 2009 |
3.8 / 5 (4) |
2
(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 ...
Experts: Placebo power behind many natural cures
Nov 10, 2009 |
5 / 5 (2) |
1
(AP) -- People looking for natural cures will be happy to know there is one. Two words explain how it works: "I believe." It's the placebo effect - the ability of a dummy pill or a faked treatment to make people feel better, ...
The narrow line between love and jealousy
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Nov 12, 2009 |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
A new study carried out at the University of Haifa has found that the hormone oxytocin, the "love hormone", which affects behaviors such as trust, empathy and generosity, also affects opposite behaviors, such as jealousy ...
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 ...
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 ...
Can heart disease treatments combat AMD?
Dec 01, 2009 |
3 / 5 (1) |
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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, ...
