Sugar Pills for Kids?

Harvard: Placebos are a key ingredient of any controlled clinical trial, the yardstick against which experimental drugs are measured. Placebos are also increasingly used as a treatment in their own right, as studies show that they make people feel better through a mind-body effect. But do parents find placebos acceptable for their children? A study published Nov. 15 in The Journal of Pediatrics, led by Harvard Medical School researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital, found the answer is mostly yes, provided ethical guidelines are followed.

Brain Power

Technion: Researchers at the Technion Faculty of Medicine have uncovered a potential course of action of the placebo effect. The study, published in the journal Nature Medicine, indicates the effect of positive expectations on the immune system. For the first time, Technion researchers have indicated a possible course of action of the placebo effect in the context of the impact of an optimistic mindset on the operation of the immune system. According to the findings, the brain’s “reward system” transmits messages via the sympathetic nervous system that affect the immune system’s efficiency.

Probing people's placebo possibilities

Scimex: The placebo effect, which makes you feel better just because you think you're receiving treatment, is a well documented medical phenomenon but the biological pathways involved have yet to be investigated. In a review article, US scientists look at what is currently known about the effect and discuss the possible ethical issues related to conducting genetic tests to determine whether a patient is more prone to respond to a placebo.