placebo

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placebo

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition | 2008 | The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright 2008 Columbia University Press. (Hide copyright information) 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." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 20 Dec. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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placebo

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable | 2006 | | © The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable 2006, originally published by Oxford University Press 2006. (Hide copyright information) 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. Oxford University Press. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 20 Dec. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "placebo." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Oxford University Press. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (December 20, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-placebo.html

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "placebo." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Oxford University Press. 2006. Retrieved December 20, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-placebo.html

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placebo

A Dictionary of Sociology | 1998 | | © A Dictionary of Sociology 1998, originally published by Oxford University Press 1998. (Hide copyright information) 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. 20 Dec. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

Free Article PLACEBOS: Fooling the Body to Heal Itself.
Magazine article from: USA Today (Magazine); 7/1/1999
Free Article The placebo effect quantified: how the placebo became a major player in mainstream and alternative medicine.
Magazine article from: Nutraceuticals World; 7/1/2009
Free Article Placebo effects in competitive sport: qualitative data.(Research article)
Magazine article from: Journal of Sports Science and Medicine; 3/1/2007

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