October 2023
The U.S. drug authority FDA recently found that a popular oral decongestant was “no better than a placebo” — a conclusion which inadvertently highlights the power of the placebo effect. This capacity for self-healing (or, philosophically, that mind influences matter) often is deemed a nuisance research settings.
For example, placebo responses can account for 50% to 75% of the benefits of drug treatments for pain.
“Basically, the body has an internal pharmacy that relieves symptoms”, writes Ted J. Kaptchuk, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, in an op-ed in The New York Times.
Kaptchuk ’s research suggests placebos should “come out of the shadows” to become a legitimate component of health care. The most groundbreaking new finding is that placebos work just as well even when the patients know they are getting a placebo.
“Placebo effects are health improvements initiated from the rituals, symbols and behaviors involved with healing”, Kaptchuk writes.
