Can Placebos Heal

The development of a new dmg usually takes several Inmdred miUion and a decade of time, but some of the candidate drags fail one irmocent-seeming test despite the major research effort their effect is not significantly better than the effect of an empty capsule without any active ingredients. How is it possible that a drag that appears effective on animals in laboratory tests is ineffective on humans in clinical trials  

A placebo is defined, with some simplification, as a medicine without an active ingredient. The use of such medications dates back to ancient times, albeit without the knowledge of the patients or the doctors as well Several medicines used in the Ancient or Middle Ages are now imderstood to not contain any active ingredients at all. Most of these placebos were widely considered effective for centuries. Conscientious people are appalled by the news that rhinos are being driven close to extinction by the belief that their horns have heating powers. It is 

the snccessM medical nse of a material without active ingredients is known as the placebo effect. The essence of this phenomenon is that a patient s positive expectations have heahng powers. Modem placebos are actually more than jnst an empty capsnle. To be effective, it is absolutely necessaiy that the patient beUeves the placebo to be a real drag. Therefore, a good placebo mimics real medicine it is available in capsnles, tablets and injections (Fig. 3.7). 

The father of the modem placebo movement is Henry Beecher, who defined the use of placebos as a medical treatment supplementing the use of an active substance in a 1955 article. He became interested in the placebo effect when he worked as an army doctor in the battles of World War II. Severely injured soldiers were sometimes injected with a solution of salt instead of morphine, which was often in short supply, yet they reported a decrease in pain and felt generally better. Beecher proved similar benefits can be achieved in the treatment of a number of different illnesses. 

Placebos have side-effects, too. These are ustrally digestive or psychogenic symptoms (constipation, flatulence, diarrhea, anxiety, insomnia), and may occur in 10-20 % of the cases. More frequently taken placebos cause side effects more often. The side effect of placebos is not to be confused with the nocebo effect. The nocebo effect is at work when someone, primarily because of prejudice, reports negative health effects of a substance that is known to cause no harm. The effect is very real as was demonstrated in a study of asthmatic patients. Patients were asked to inhale water vapor and several of those who believed the water vapor contained an allergen experienced a shortness of breath. 

---