The placebo effect: amazing and real
November 2, 2015
Robert H. Shmerling
The placebo effect is a mysterious thing. I’ve long been
fascinated by the idea that something as inert and harmless
as a sugar pill could relieve a person’s pain or hasten their
recovery just by the expectation that it would. Studies use
placebos – an inactive treatment, such as a sugar pill – ∈
an attempt to understand the true impact of the active drug.
Comparing what happens to a group of patients taking the
active drug with the results of those taking a placebo can help
researchers understand just how good the active drug is.
The word “placebo” comes from Latin and means “I shall
please.” And “please” it does. In study after study, many
patients who take a placebo show improvement ∈ their
symptoms or condition.
The placebo effect is for real
Recent research on the placebo effect only confirms how
powerful it can be – and that the benefits of a placebo treatment
aren’t just “all ∈ your head.” Measureable physiological
changes can be observed ∈ those taking a placebo, similar to
those observed among people taking effective medications.
In particular, blood pressure, heart rate, and blood test results
have been shown to improve among subsets of research
subjects who responded to a placebo.
Of course, not everyone has a therapeutic response to a
placebo. If that were the case, we wouldn’t need medications
at all. Instead, we could simply wield the power of suggestion.
Understanding why certain people improve with placebo
treatment and others do not is the “holy grail” of placebo research.
Nocebo: Placebo’s evil twin
The power of suggestion is a double-edged sword. If
you expect a treatment to help you, it’s more likely to do so.
And if you expect a treatment will be harmful, you are more
likely to experience negative effects. That phenomenon is
called the “nocebo effect” (from the Latin “I shall harm”). For
example, if you tell a person that a headache is a common
side effect of a particular medication, that person is more
likely to report headaches even if they are actually taking a
placebo. The power of expectation is formidable and probably
plays a significant role ∈ the benefits and the side effects of
commonly prescribed medications.
(www.health.harvard.edu. Adaptado.)
According to the first paragraph, a placebo
