Because the submitted article mentions back-and-forth about placebo effects, quoting some researchers on the issue, perhaps I should share here some links that are helpful for understanding what placebo effects are all about. Some of these online links cite quite a few useful scholarly publications.

http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/michael-specte...

"In other words, the best research we have strongly suggests that placebo effects are illusions, not real physiological effects. The possible exception to this are the subjective symptoms of pain and nausea, where the placebo effects are highly variable and may be due to subjective reporting."

http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/angells-review...

http://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/the-rise-and-fa...

http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/placebo-effect...

http://www.skepdic.com/placebo.html

http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/revisiting-dan...