Strange and Surprising Facts About Placebos

I was recently asked this question on Quora: "What is the true impact of placebo effect on science?" My answer:



Ignorance. The true effect, at present, of placebo effect on science is ignorance. Ignorance of cause, ignorance of consequences.



I am talking about the actual impact of placebo effect on
science, and doing so in the hope that someday we can change that effect to
something as powerful and useful as placebo effect actually is.

First, we need to clearly define some terms. I'll use Webster's.
It's a a good place to start. Placebo effects don't “work”. We know that placebos work. But the question
is about placebo effects, not placebos.

Webster's defines “placebo effect” as “improvement in the
condition of a patient that occurs in response to treatment but cannot be
considered due to the specific treatment used”. Placebo effects are real
positive effects that are not caused by the treatment. Therefore, by definition, placebos DO NOT cause placebo effects. This is a common
misconception. Oxford's dictionary makes this clear, but then heads over to the
“ignorance” position.

Oxford's definition of placebo effect “A beneficial effect
produced by a placebo drug or treatment, which cannot be attributed to the
properties of the placebo itself”. Correct. But then Oxford cites the “common
sense knowledge” (AKA ignorance), finishing their definition with nonsense “
and must therefore be due to the patient's belief in that treatment”.

This is the common nonsense, and it leads to ignorance of cause.
Let's be clear:

1. every positive effect has a cause - by definition.

2. Placebo effects are effects where we do not know the cause,
3. Placebo effects are effects where we believe we know what DID NOT cause the effect.

When we assume that the effect is “due to the patient's belief in
that treatment” it's easy to ignore the cause and ignore, to not study, the
effect. Ignorance.

In actual fact, this creates two problems.

First of all, if the effect is NOT caused by “the patient's
belief”, we cannot find the true cause, because we are not searching for the
true cause, we are ignoring it. Ignorance.

Secondly, if the effect IS CAUSED by the patient's belief in the
treatment, then things get really complicated.

For example, we might try to study how to create or induce the
“placebo effect”. But there's a problem. If we can create or increase the
patient's belief in the treatment, and our actions cause an improvement in the
patient's condition, It's NOT placebo effect any more. It's a real effect, caused by a
deliberate action, caused by a real treatment technique. Beneficial, yes.
Placebo effect? No.

Also, if we try to induce placebo effect, by increasing the
patient's belief in the treatment, then we assume the improvemets are caused
by the “placebo” action. This results in dismissal of other potential causes,
because we can easily attribute all effects to “placebo effect”. Ignorance.

We need to study every case of placebo effect to find the real
causes. Dismissing placebo effect as “caused by the patient's belief in the
treatment” is ignorance of other possibilities. There are always lots of other
possibilities. Patients are living breathing entities. Their health, their
bodies, minds, spirits, and communities are all taking actions to fight the
illness. Making the assumption that all of those effects have a single cause,
the patient's belief, is simple ignorance of the complex reality.

If we are to understand placebo effects we need to study every
case, not dismiss "placebo effects" as “all in the mind”. Every placebo effect is a real
effect, with a real cause. Assuming the cause is ALL in the mind of the
patient is ignorance of other causes.

When science studies every placebo effect to find every cause, we
will learn more about real treatments, real causes, and real effects.

But today, we deliberately design “double blind placebo controlled
clinical studies” to IGNORE placebo effect. Nonsense. Ignorance. That is the
current impact of placebo effect on science. It's time for a change.

To your health, tracy

Founder: Healthicine

tracy