Is the Placebo Powerless? An Analysis of Clinical Trials Comparing Placebo with No Treatment - Brief Article

Hrobjartsson, Asbjorn, and Peter C. Gotzsche. "Is the Placebo Powerless? An Analysis of Clinical Trials Comparing Placebo with No Treatment." The New England Journal of Medicine, 344(21): 1594-1602, May 24, 2001. To evaluate whether placebos help patients with diseases, the authors conducted a systematic review of clinical trials where patients were given either a placebo or no treatment.

Little evidence was found to prove that placebos had powerful clinical effects. The authors conclude that outside a clinical setting, they see no justification for the use of placebos, but that "they had possible small benefits in studies with continuous subjective outcomes and for the treatment of pain."

COPYRIGHT 2001 Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal
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