What Is Placebo Therapy?

A placebo is any treatment with no therapeutic value or active properties. Placebo therapy can include tablets known as sugar pills, injections that only contain saline solution, or even sham surgeries that omit a therapeutically necessary step in the process. When patients experience a change or improvement after being given a placebo, this is known as a placebo effect. In clinical trials for pharmaceuticals, researchers use placebos to determine and evaluate the efficacy of new medications. 

While placebos don’t have any actual substances or properties to them, they still have the potential to improve symptoms, often due to the patient’s belief that they are receiving effective treatment for their condition. Since they lack therapeutic value, they aren’t able to cure medical conditions. Still, they can be helpful in the management of the symptoms associated with those conditions. For example, a placebo cannot cure cancer. But it can help relieve the symptoms of nausea and fatigue. Placebos may also be helpful in pain management and relieving the symptoms of stress-induced insomnia. 

Although there is a stigma surrounding the use of placebos in healthcare, the positive outcomes associated with the placebo effect may still provide comfort and symptom relief to individuals who might otherwise fail to experience improvement with traditional forms of medicine. Some of these positive outcomes may be associated with the hopeful expectations of the patients and the fact that they are receiving medical care, which may convince the brain that the treatment is real and effective. In any case, it’s important to consider the placebo’s ability to produce the desired outcome and relief, especially if it reduces distress among patients with end-stage disease. Eventually, scientists may harness the effects of placebos to herald a new type of care that relies less on pharmacological interventions while emphasizing psychosocial interactions and the power of the mind. 

Sources 

“The Power of the Placebo Effect”. Harvard Health. https://www.health.harvard.edu/mental-health/the-power-of-the-placebo-effect 

““Consensus on Placebo and Nocebo Effects Connects Science with Practice:” Reply to “Questioning the Consensus on Placebo and Nocebo Effects” Karger. https://karger.com/pps/article/90/3/213/294358/Consensus-on-Placebo-and-Nocebo-Effects-Connects 

“The neuroscience of placebo effects: connecting context, learning and health”. Nature Reviews Neuroscience. https://www.nature.com/articles/nrn3976