The Placebo Effect Shows Our Mind Has An Impact On Medical Treatments, But A Nocebo Study Shows That The Opposite May Be Even More Powerful

When Placebo Plus Standard of Care Clouds the Signal: Unmasking the “Placebo Problem” in Lupus Clinical Trials

Juan Ovalles, MD, PhD, discusses how high placebo response rates driven by background therapy complicate lupus drug trials, and outlines evolving strategies in trial design, clinical practice, and pharmacist-led care to ensure investigational biologics are fairly evaluated and appropriately used in systemic lupus erythematosus.

The Placebo Effect Shows Our Mind Has An Impact On Medical Treatments, But A Nocebo Study Shows That The Opposite May Be Even More Powerful

Shutterstock The placebo effect is a powerful concept that has been proven over and over again in many different studies. For those who don’t know, it is a concept where if someone thinks something is going to work, it is more likely to work, regardless of whether it actually should work or not. This is most commonly used in medical situations. For example, if you have a headache and are given a pill that you are told will provide you with pain …