FINDINGS OF PLACEBO RESEARCH.

FINDINGS OF PLACEBO RESEARCH. In this post I asked a number of questions about what studies on placebo effects had learned. (Annalisa had commented “I’m sure someone somewhere has done studies about good luck charms ‘working’ thanks to the placebo effect.” ) I ventured that “there should be quite a bit of information available about placebo effects.” This Economist article calls attention to the fact that this June 27 issue of the Philosophical Transactions published by the Royal Society is entirely devoted to research on placebo effects. The Economist article summarizes some findings of placebo research. The effect is strongest where the problem is predominantly “mental and subjective.” Expectations are important. If the patient is told the placebo is morphine, the improvement is stronger than if the patient is told that the placebo is aspirin. Sham injections are better than sham pills and sham surgery is even better. One mystery: sometimes there seems to be improvement even when the patient knows it’s a placebo.