A Closer Look at the Placebo Effect

You’ve heard of placebos. Placebos are the medications, sometimes referred to as sugar pills, or dummy pills that are used in research trials to test new drug therapies. Typically, the placebo drugs are given to the control group who do not receive the new medication.
Surprisingly, sometimes the control group actually received some benefits from the placebos – hence the name "placebo effect," the benefit that patients receive from a treatment with absolutely no active ingredients.

Now, researchers suggest that the placebo effect is an important component in clinical practice.

For the first time, researchers are working to determine if placebos actually influence specific and objective measures of a disease. A newly released study of asthma patients examined two different placebo treatments in comparison to standard medical treatment (i.e. albuterol bronchodilator). The results? Placebos had no effect on lung function, which is important in asthma functions, but placebos were just as effective as albuteral in relieving self-reported discomfort and asthma symptoms.

One of the things this means for you is that if you’ve considered participating in a clinical trial, but were hesitant because you might get the placebo, then this is cause to rethink that stance. Participating in a clinical trial can be a valuable way to gain access to the most current research that addresses your most serious health concerns.

As one researcher states, “It's clear that for the patient, the ritual of treatment can be very powerful. This study suggests that in addition to active therapies for fixing diseases, the idea of receiving care is a critical component of what patients value in health care. In a climate of patient dissatisfaction, this may be an important lesson."

Source
The study, led by Harvard Medical School investigators at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), appears in the July 14, 2011 issue of the NEJoM.