placebo effect studies

[astudentforever]

does anyone know if there have been any studies to see how much placebo effect can vary?
i ask because if some people have a very low placebo effect, couldn't that save a lot of trouble with studies - using them?

 

[nAON]

I think it must vary a lot with the condition being treated. For pretty much any specific double blind trial, they should have published results comparing to the placebo, you could probably calculate the % placebo efficacy from that.

 

[astudentforever]

sorry, i meant to say how much placebo effects can vary between people - not drugs.
i'm just wondering what percentage of people have a mild placebo effect to drugs in general, and how mild that can be.

 

[nAON]

No idea about specific studies, would be interesting - but also could look at some random drug studies and derive a vague idea from looing at the standard deviation in placebo response.

 

[endotropic]

does anyone know if there have been any studies to see how much placebo effect can vary?
i ask because if some people have a very low placebo effect, couldn't that save a lot of trouble with studies - using them?

This could be something like what you're looking for:

The Placebo Effect: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly.

Abstract
The placebo effect is defined as any improvement of symptoms or signs following a physically inert intervention. Its effects are especially profound in relieving subjective symptoms such as pain, fatigue, and depression. Present to a variable extent in all therapeutic encounters, this effect is intensified by hands-on contact with close verbal communication between care-giver and recipient. Thus it may be used to benefit patients but provides a ready avenue for unscrupulous "healers" of all types. Conventional medical practitioners often intervene in some way and, without knowing what caused the improvement, may claim credit for the apparent benefit. Physicians must be skeptical about apparent "responses" to treatments, using the information described herein in order to better understand what we are-or not-accomplishing to provide the best possible outcomes for our patients. Less well studied, the "nocebo effect" defines negative responses to placebo interventions. This latter effect may be quite profound and likely is causative in many maladies believed to have psychic origins.
Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.