If you have Parkinson's disease, the answer apparently is Yes. This
is
based on a small study published in the journal Neurology and which
the popular media has picked up on. Some popular media outlets
include Medical News Today;
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/288563.php
The Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2015/01/28/an-expensive-placebo-is-more-effective-than-a-cheap-one-study-shows/
and Reuters:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/28/us-science-placebo-idUSKBN0L12J920150128
The original research article can be accessed here:
http://www.neurology.org/content/early/2015/01/28/WNL.1282.abstract
Note: subscription required.
Quoting from the abstract:
|Conclusion: Expensive placebo significantly improved motor
|function and decreased brain activation in a direction and magnitude
|comparable to, albeit less than, levodopa. Perceptions of cost
|are capable of altering the placebo response in clinical studies.
Note: one group received Levodopa as a treatment and this was
superior to the benefits/changes seen in the placebo conditions.
There is also an editorial published in the issue that is available for
free on the web; see:
http://www.neurology.org/content/early/2015/01/28/WNL.1282/suppl/DC2
In some illnesses there are no known effective treatments or the usual
treatments simply don't work (e.g., treatment resistant depression)
but it might be possible that a placebo treatment, conducted properly,
may produce beneficial effects. This would be better than no treatment
which may encourage a negative attributional style supporting the view
that there will never be an effective treatment for their condition.
-Mike Palij
New York University
m...@nyu.edu
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