Placebo Research Paper

When one thinks of the placebo effect, what comes to mind? Many might associate it with something negative. Some might believe it only involves being fooled or tricked, and immediately dismiss it. While there is still much that we do not know about how the placebo works, it is still important to view it open and objectively. I believe the positive effects from the placebo response, vastly outweigh the negative, and one even has the potential to harness the power of the placebo for their own personal gain.
What is the placebo effect exactly? Medicine Net defines it as: “The placebo response. A remarkable phenomenon in which a placebo -- a fake treatment, an inactive substance like sugar, distilled water, or saline solution -- can sometimes improve a patient's condition simply because the person has the expectation that it will be helpful” (2012). It seems expectations have a vital role in invoking a response. The more you
Test subjects were given active medication or an inactive placebo, then told to rate their pain before and after treatment. Fibromyalgia patients saw A 45% improvement in pain in response to the inactive placebo, and diabetes patients observed an even higher rate of 62%. (Hauser et al., 2011). Essentially, they are taking something with absolutely no medical properties, but achieving the same results the real medicine offers. With surprisingly high rate of success as well (around 50%). This shows the very real and beneficial results offered by the placebo. It also makes one wonder if these results can be taken even farther? By manipulating the environment, expectations, and enthusiasm around the placebo, can we amplify these results? Although it might be impossible to find an exact algorithm to maximize results for everyone, I believe there is still room to refine and perfect the factors