Journal of Clinical Epidemiology
Volume 59, Issue 4 , Pages 331-335 , April 2006

The nature and power of the placebo effect

  • Franklin G. Miller

      Affiliations

    • Intramural Research Program, National Institute of Mental Health, Department of Clinical Bioethics, Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Building 10, Room 1C118, Bethesda, MD 20892-1156, USA
    • The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the National Institutes of Health, the Public Health Service, or the Department of Health and Human Services.
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author. Tel.: 301-435-8719; fax: 301-496-0760.
    • ,
  • Donald L. Rosenstein

      Affiliations

    • Office of the Clinical Director, Intramural Research Program, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
    • The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the National Institutes of Health, the Public Health Service, or the Department of Health and Human Services.

,Accepted 20 May 2005.

References 

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  2. Hróbjartsson A, Gøtzsche PC. Is the placebo powerless? An analysis of clinical trials comparing placebo with no treatment. N Engl J Med. 2001;344:1594–1602[Erratum in: N Engl J Med 2001;345:304]
  3. Thomas KB. The placebo in general practice. Lancet. 1994;344:1066–1067
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  14. Vase L, Riley JL, Price DD. A comparison of placebo effects in clinical analgesic trials versus studies of placebo analgesia. Pain. 2002;99:443–452
  15. Hróbjartsson A, Gøtzsche . Unreliable analysis of placebo analgesia in trials of placebo pain mechanisms. [Letter] Pain. 2003;104:714–715
  16. Price DD, Riley JL, Vase L. Reliable differences in placebo effects between clinical analgesic trials and studies of placebo analgesia mechanisms. [Author reply] Pain. 2003;104:715–716
  17. Pollo A, Amanzio M, Arslanian A, Casadio C, Maggi G, Benedetti F. Response expectancies in placebo analgesia and their clinical relevance. Pain. 2001;93:77–84
  18. Miller FG. William James, faith, and the placebo effect. Perspect Biol Med. 2005;48:273–281
  19. McRae C, Cherin E, Yamazaki TG, Diem G, Vo AH, Russell D, et al. Effects of perceived treatment on quality of life and medical outcomes in a double-blind placebo surgery trial. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2004;61:412–420[Erratum in: Arch Gen Psychiatry 2004;61:627]
  20. de la Fuente-Fernandez R, Ruth TJ, Sossi V, Schulzer M, Calne DB, Stoessl AJ. Expectation and dopamine release: mechanism of the placebo effect in Parkinson's disease. Science. 2001;293:1164–1166
  21. Benedetti F, Colloca L, Torre E, Lanotte M, Melcarne A, Pesare M, et al. Placebo-responsive Parkinson patients show decreased activity in single neurons of subthalamic nucleus. Nat Neurosci. 2004;7:587–588
  22. Asmar R, Safar M, Queneau P. Evaluation of the placebo effect and reproducibility of blood pressure measurement in hypertension. Am J Hypertension. 2001;14:546–552

PII: S0895-4356(05)00404-X

doi: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2005.12.001

Journal of Clinical Epidemiology
Volume 59, Issue 4 , Pages 331-335 , April 2006

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