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Re:What if the Placebo Effect Isn’t a Trick? by luxcem on Wednesday November 07, 2018 @12:34PM (#18400663)
I strongly believe that, "placebo" effect is probably just contextual effects. There is an experiment (I don't remember the name) with 4 cases:

- A placebo pills and a nice, empathic, optimistic doctor - No pills and a nice and empathic doctor - A placebo pills and a cold and pessimistic doctor - No pills and a cold and pessimistic doctor

The pills have practically no effect at all, doctor behavior can have a measurable impact.

Besides I don't think there is a proven effect of placebo for other than psychosomatic symptoms (in particular pain and depression symptoms).

Re:What if the Placebo Effect Isn’t a Trick? by wefarrell on Wednesday November 07, 2018 @01:02PM (#18400870)
I would take the time to closely read the article. It points to several cases where the placebo effect went beyond psychosomatic, specifically treating irritable bowel syndrome and preventing heart disease.