| You are here: | About>Health>Arthritis> Treatments / Surgery> A - Z: Arthritis Research> Clinical Trials: Arthritis> Placebo Effect - What Is The Placebo Effect? |
![]() | Arthritis |
Suggested Reading - Placebo EffectClinical TrialsJudging Clinical TrialsClinical Trials: Why Volunteer? Related Resources - Placebo EffectRelated Resources - Placebo EffectRelated Sites"What Is The Placebo Effect?"About.com Health's Disease and Condition content is reviewed by Kate Grossman, MD
Definition: A placebo, as used in research, is an inactive substance or procedure used as a control in an experiment. The placebo effect is the measurable, observable, or felt improvement in health not attributable to an actual treatment. When a treatment is based on a known inactive substance like a sugar pill, distilled water, or saline solution rather than having real medical value, a patient may still improve merely because their expectation to do so is so strong. To eliminate the effect of positive thinking on clinical trials, researchers often run double-blind, placebo-controlled studies. For An In-Depth Explanation Of The Placebo Effect:Fast Facts About The Placebo Effect:
Also Known As: Placebo, Placebo response, Power of suggestion Common Misspellings: plasebo, placeboo, placebo affect Examples: The patient thought she was feeling better, but was it real or the placebo effect?
Sources: Placebo Effect, Robert Todd Carroll, The Skeptic's Dictionary, Skepdic.com, The Mysterious Placebo Effect, by Carol Hart, American Chemical Society, Modern Drug Discovery, July/August 1999: The Healing Power of Placebos, by Tamar Nordenberg, FDA Consumer magazine January-February 2000 Updated: June 15, 2006 Suggested Reading - Placebo EffectClinical TrialsJudging Clinical TrialsClinical Trials: Why Volunteer? Related Resources - Placebo EffectRelated Resources - Placebo Effect |
Dealing With Heart DiseaseHeart Disease BasicsCommon SymptomsTreatment OptionsReducing Your RiskWomen and Heart Disease |
All Topics | Email Article | | | ![]() |
| Advertising Info | News & Events | Work at About | SiteMap | Reprints | Help | Our Story | Be a Guide |
| More from About, Inc.: Calorie Count Plus | UCompareHealthCare User Agreement | Ethics Policy | Patent Info. | Corrections | Privacy Policy | ©2008 About, Inc., A part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved. |


