The placebo effect is a real and therapeutic psychological phenomenon that, with more research, could be exploited more systematically in medical practice, said Australian researchers. ‘There is not one placebo effect, but many,’ wrote Damien Finniss, MSc, of the University of Sydney in Australia, and colleagues in the Feb. 20 issue of The Lancet, arguing that recent research shows that placebo effects can exist even in the absence of an actual placebo. Much remains to be learned about the mechanisms underlying placebo effects as well as the ethics of providing placebo-based treatments, but it seems likely that eventually these effects can be harnessed to improve patient care, they concluded. Finniss and colleagues reviewed the literature on the placebo effect, which suggests that it is far more complicated than many people think. It is more than just taking a pill that patients think is, or could be, an active drug. The act of receiving a pill brings a whole ‘psychosocial context’ into play, according to Finniss and colleagues: it includes not only the patient’s desires and expectations but also those of the clinician; their past experiences; and their interaction with each other and with their physical and […]