Why Placebos Work Wonders
From Weight Loss To Fertility, New Legitimacy For ‘Fake’ Treatments
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204720204577128873886471982.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
More and more evidence is mounting that the placebo effect is ‘real’ in the sense that it has actual, measurable physiological effects. However, as mentioned at the end of this article, perception is quite key as medically induced asthma suffers reported feeling better with placebo treatments even though their lungs didn’t show any clinical benefit. I would suppose the more complex the issue the more likely the placebo would have impact (meaning placebo for a heart attack is not likely to show much efficacy, while a placebo for something more nebulous (like menopause, something else mentioned in the article (not that I am claiming menopause isn’t real, but the symptoms are more difficult to measure)) it might be much more effective.
