Oct 24th, 2008 · The American Medical Association says doctors shouldn't prescribe placebos because the practice undermines trust. But in a new study, about half of the physicians surveyed say they regularly prescribe placebos — and that patients are mostly unaware.
Mar 6th, 2008 · A new study indicates that people get better results from taking expensive pills -- even when the "expensive pill" is a placebo with no active medical ingredients.
Jan 3rd, 2008 · A study of hotel maids showed that they did not think they got much exercise -- even with all the heavy lifting they do. But when they were told that their jobs qualified as workouts, the pounds started dropping.
Dec 12th, 2007 · This fall, an FDA advisory committee recommended that cold medicines no longer be marketed for children under age 6; clinical trials found these over-the-counter drugs were no better than a placebo. An NPR/Kaiser/Harvard poll finds that most parents still cast a cautious vote of confidence in the drugs.
Oct 9th, 2007 · Alcohol-dependent patients who received topiramate, a seizure medication, had fewer heavy-drinking days, fewer drinks per day and more days of continuous abstinence than those who received placebo, according to a study in the Oct. 10 issue of Journal of the American Medical Association.
Dec 4th, 2006 · Pfizer Inc. halts tests of a highly touted new cholesterol drug because of an unexpected number of deaths and other complications. Testing on the drug, torcetrapib, was ceased after more people in the drug group died than in the placebo group. The drug was unique in that it raises HDL, the "good" kind of cholesterol.
Nov 17th, 2004 · Commentator and medical school student Joe Wright muses about the use of placebos to treat adults and children.