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What is the nature of placebo and nocebo effects?
Placebo and nocebo... The placebo effect in medicine is a healing effect that occurs when patients take drugs that do not contain an active ingredient (placebo). This is called a sham treatment. However, patients think they are taking a medicine with an active ingredient that is treating them.
Contrary to the placebo effect, in the nocebo effect, taking a placebo may cause additional unwanted side effects to occur.
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When is sham treatment effective?
Sham treatment cannot be used as an alternative to traditional treatment (legally speaking). It is only used for the purpose of clinical trials to determine the effectiveness/ineffectiveness of a particular medicine.
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What are the results of the studies done so far?
The latest studies testify that patients can respond to sham treatment thanks to the placebo effect. However, not all participants experienced an effect with such treatment.
