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placebo

placebo

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2011 | Copyright

placebo , inert substance given instead of a potent drug . Placebo medications are sometimes prescribed when a drug is not really needed or when one would not be appropriate because they make patients feel well taken care of. Placebos are also used as controls in scientific studies on the effectiveness of drugs. So-called double blind experiments, where neither the doctor nor the patient knows whether the given medication is the experimental drug or the placebo, are often done to assure unbiased, statistically reliable results. A traditional placebo's lack of side effects, however, often identifies it, so an older drug is sometimes used in drug tests instead of or in addition to a placebo.

The "placebo effect" is an apparent improvement in health due not to any treatment but only to the patient's belief that he or she will improve (as by taking a dummy pill that is thought to be a cure). A report released in 2001, however, reviewed 114 studies where use of a placebo was compared to both treatment and no treatment and found no placebo effect with respect to measurable medical conditions, such as blood pressure and cholesterol levels. An opposite, or "negative placebo effect," has been observed when patients believe their health will get worse.

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placebo

A Dictionary of Sociology | 1998 | | Copyright

placebo A treatment which has no effect, and is administered to a control group in experimental research, in place of a treatment whose effects are being studied. This usually happens only in medical research; in social research, control groups are rarely offered a placebo experience or treatment.

In the medical context, a substance lacking known pharmacologically active ingredients is given to the sick in order to please them; that is, for possible beneficial effects arising from faith in the powers of treatment (the placebo effect). Placebos are also widely used as controls in evaluating the therapeutic efficacy of the active components of new drugs. Conventionally, the experimental treatment is given to cases selected at random, with the ineffective placebo given to all other cases, even though they are suffering from the same illness. In the ‘double blind’ situation, even the person administering the treatments does not know which is which, as the medicines are made to look the same, to prevent him or her inadvertently communicating their knowledge to recipients.
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GORDON MARSHALL. "placebo." A Dictionary of Sociology. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

GORDON MARSHALL. "placebo." A Dictionary of Sociology. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O88-placebo.html

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placebo

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English | 2009 | Copyright

pla·ce·bo / pləˈsēbō/ • n. (pl. -bos) a harmless pill, medicine, or procedure prescribed more for the psychological benefit to the patient than for any physiological effect: his Aunt Beatrice had been kept alive on sympathy and placebos for thirty years | [as adj.] placebo drugs. ∎  a substance that has no therapeutic effect, used as a control in testing new drugs. ∎ fig. a measure designed merely to calm or please someone.

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placebo

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | | Copyright

placebo (liturg.) vespers for the dead. XIII. First word of the antiphon to the first psalm in the office: ‘Placebo Domino in regione vivorum’ (Psalm 114: 9) I shall please the Lord in the land of the living.
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T. F. HOAD. "placebo." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

T. F. HOAD. "placebo." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-placebo.html

T. F. HOAD. "placebo." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-placebo.html

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placebo

A Dictionary of Nursing | 2008 | Copyright

placebo (plă-see-boh) n. a medicine that is ineffective but may help to relieve a condition because the patient has faith in its powers. New drugs are tested against placebos in clinical trials.
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placebo

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable | 2006 | | Copyright

placebo a pill, medicine, or procedure prescribed more for the psychological benefit to the patient of being given a prescription than for any physiological effect.
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "placebo." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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Placebo

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church | 2000 | | Copyright

Placebo (Lat., ‘I will please’). A traditional title for the Vespers of the Dead, so called from the word with which it used to open.
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E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Placebo." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Placebo." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-Placebo.html

E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Placebo." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-Placebo.html

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placebo

Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes | 2007 | Copyright

placebo •jabot, sabot •ambo, flambeau, mambo, Rambo, Rimbaud, Tambo •Gabo, Garbo, lavabo •elbow • Strabo • rainbow •gazebo, grebo, placebo •Igbo • bilbo •akimbo, bimbo, limbo •Maracaibo • yobbo •combo, Negombo •longbow • crossbow • oxbow •hobo, lobo, oboe •Colombo, dumbo, gumbo, jumbo, mumbo-jumbo, umbo •Malabo • Mirabeau • turbo

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

Placebo effects in competitive sport: qualitative data.(Research article)
Magazine article from: Journal of Sports Science and Medicine; 3/1/2007
Placebos and placebo effects
Magazine article from: Anaesthesia and Intensive Care; 5/1/2010
Placebos: Fooling the body to heal itself
Magazine article from: USA TODAY; 7/1/1999

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