The placebo effect - what does this mean?From Latin, "placebo" translates as "flattery, like" and means it is a physiologically inert substance that is used as a medicine. In this case, the positive therapeutic effect of this substance is based on the psychological subconscious expectation of the patient.
The placebo effect is manifested depending on a number of factors: the degree of suggestibility of the patient, the authority of the treating doctor, the size and color of the capsule, and so on.
Reality or myth
The term "placebo effect" was discovered by a physician fromAmerica by Henry Beecher in 1995. It was he who discovered that a third of patients are cured of tablets that do not contain any active substances. The placebo effect manifests itself depending on the condition of a person and on his expectations. Some argue that the placebo acts only on the patients being induced, but this opinion is incorrect.
The positive effect of medication treatment largely depends on the psychotherapeutic factors. The right attitude can strengthen the therapeutic effect of pharmacological agents.
Placebo effect - what does this mean in terms of pharmacology?
Placebo pills are used as a controldrug when testing new drugs. A group of subjects is given a test preparation previously tested in animals. The other group receives a placebo. For the drug to be considered effective, the effect of its use should exceed the placebo effect.
Placebo effect - what does this mean in terms of pharmacotherapy?
In some cases, doctors prescribe a placebopatients who are slopes to self-hypnosis of painful manifestations. This avoids unnecessary use of pharmaceuticals and possible complications from taking medications. By the way, the positive effect of homeopathic remedies can also be explained by the placebo effect.
In principle, a placebo is not only a substance or,for example, an imitation of a procedure. You can get the placebo effect even with the help of a conversation, the main thing is to mobilize the patient's beliefs in the right direction.
The placebo effect - what does this mean in terms of evidence-based medicine
Many drugs have not yet been passedplacebo-controlled trial. At the same time, many medications work largely due to the "placebo-component". This explains the fact that large and bright tablets are more effective, and advertised drugs are more quickly cured than little-known medicines.
The placebo effect in psychology
In psychotherapy, the placebo effect is achieved bysuggestion. Medical suggestion does not require special skills, because the problem of patient's disbelief is easily solved by binding information to the actual object. This may be an injection or a tablet that does not have a real effect on the body. The patient is informed at the same time that the drug taken by him has a certain effect on the body, and, despite his inefficiency, the expected effect to some extent begins to manifest.
The physiological action of placebo can be explainedso: as a result of suggestion, the human brain begins to produce substances corresponding to this action, which partially replace the effect of the drug. The second factor that ensures the effectiveness of placebo is the strengthening of general immunity, which fights the disease naturally.
