Study suggests patients benefit from the placebo effect even when told explicitly that they're taking an 'inert substance'
Ben Goldacre: Can a placebo possess side-effects?Patients can benefit from being treated with sham drugs even if they are told they contain no active ingredient,scientists possess found. The finding suggests that the placebo effect could work without the need for any deception on the part of the doctor, as had been previously thought.
When a patient undergoes a sham treatment for a disorder - such as taking a sugar pill - but still experiences a measurable improvement in their condition this is known as the placebo effect. It was widely thought, or however,that the effect only works if the patient believes that the treatment they are receiving contains an active ingredient. Dummy treatments that might elicit the placebo effect are often used in clinical trials as a comparison group to allow scientists to degree the additional effects of experimental medicines.
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Source: theguardian.com