Placebos
Placebos, Latin for “I shall please”, are any inert substances or procedures that lead to the improvement of an individual’s mental or physical health. The improvement itself is referred to as a placebo effect or response. It is theorised that the change in state of mind, lifestyle, and brain activity of the individuals when they know they are receiving a form of medication can lead to triggering the placebo effect.
It isn’t limited to medications or treatments either; just thinking that water tastes or looks different may trigger a placebo effect, making it seem as if the taste really changed! Expectations and state of mind are major triggers for placebo effects. Various studies show that placebos may cause real, measurable psychological changes, similar to effective medicine. This is why they are an important topic of study for psychology and medicine.
A Japanese medical journal published a study in 1962 exploring the placebo effect. 13 students sensitive to Japanese lacquer tree leaves had the actual leaf rubbed onto one of their hands and told that it was a harmless leaf from another plant. The opposite was done for their other hand. All of them developed rashes on the hand rubbed with the harmless leaf; however, only two developed rashes on the hand rubbed with the actual lacquer leaf! This experiment demonstrated the placebo effect alongside the nocebo effect, placebo’s evil twin. A response is called a nocebo effect when it worsens the individual’s condition. This usually stems from the individual expecting adverse effects from the medication, as demonstrated by the experiment. (Nocebo means “I shall harm”!)
Placebos aren’t used as medicine; however, they are an important factor to consider when developing new treatments. Whenever a new treatment is tested, it is compared to a placebo used as a control. A group of patients is split in half: some receive the actual treatment, others receive the placebo. The effects are recorded and compared. The treatment is considered effective if it performs better than the placebo.
But is the use of placebos really ethical? It is greatly debated if the use of inert substances or treatments without the patient’s knowledge, even if their health really does improve, is really the right thing to do. It is argued that their use may “erode” away patients’ trust due to their dependence on deception. Their use also poses a risk to the patient’s health (in case the placebos don’t have any effect).
Doctors try their best to avoid using placebos as much as possible. If a placebo is being used, the patients are usually informed beforehand. They also maintain a positive relationship with their patients to prevent possible nocebo effects. “Open-labelled” placebos are also being tested, where the patients knowingly take them. The results, so far, show that placebos may even take effect even if the patients know they are taking them.
In the end, our knowledge of placebos and their effects on the mind-body relationship is still incomplete. Whether a medical nuisance or a helpful phenomenon, placebos reveal how much more we have left to explore about ourselves! With a better understanding of placebos, it may even be possible to apply them alongside treatments to further boost their effectiveness!
References:
- https://www.jstor.org/stable/43854452
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3txpVZbml6srYwTmyg1zl1D/the-placebo-effect
- https://www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/6-historic-experiments-helped-pave-way-modern-clinical-research
- https://theconversation.com/the-fascinating-story-of-placebos-and-why-doctors-should-use-them-more-often-149945
- https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/placebo-effect
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9361274/
- https://signanthealth.com/resources/blog/placebo-response-in-clinical-trials
- https://www.scielo.br/j/bioet/a/fcxHwrCvndVNv4zRWS74WWt/?lang=en&format=pdf
