Does the placebo effect play a role in alternative medicine?
The well-known placebo effect to a large part explains why people benefit from alternative medicine. Interestingly, the method with which a placebo is administered also affects how well it works. A larger pill works better than a smaller one, and a placebo injection is more powerful than a pill.
Why is placebo important in drug development?
Placebos are an important part of clinical studies as they provide researchers with a comparison point for new therapies, so they can prove they are safe and effective. They can provide them with the evidence required to apply to regulatory bodies for approval of a new drug.
What is placebo success rate?
Estimates of the placebo cure rate range from a low of 15 percent to a high of 72 percent. The longer the period of treatment and the larger the number of physician visits, the greater the placebo effect.
What are the advantages of using a placebo versus an active control?
A well-designed study that shows superiority of a treatment to a control (placebo or active therapy) provides strong evidence of the effectiveness of the new treatment, limited only by the statistical uncertainty of the result. No information external to the trial is needed to support the conclusion of effectiveness.
Is it ethical to use placebo in clinical trial?
The World Medical Association has reaffirmed its view that in general it is ethically unacceptable to conduct placebo controlled trials if a proven therapy is available for the condition under investigation.
When is a placebo acceptable?
According to the World Medical Association’s Declaration of Helsinki, which addresses ethical issues surrounding the use of human subjects in research, placebo use is acceptable when there is no proven acceptable treatment for the condition, when “for compelling and scientifically sound methodological reasons” it’s …