NewScientist somewhat erroneously titled the described phenomenon "The Placebo Effect". That patient received a real intervention and then was switched to a placebo. The finding is interesting, but I'd be more tempted to call that an actual placebo effect if the patient was given saline solution in the first place without ever receiving morphine.
Furthermore, much (if not most) of the placebo effect can be attributed observational and reporting bias in studies, either on the part of the observing physician or on the part of the patient. You'll notice that placebo scores are often highest in studies that rely on a patient completing a survey asking them to quantify the effectiveness of the treatment they received, and this is usually a measure of the perceived benefit more than an objective measurement of treatment efficacy.
The placebo effect is oversold by alt-med proponents and people with a knee-jerk negative reaction to Big Pharma. They've made mistakes, to be sure, and you can't trust a pharma company to police itself, but the fact remains that the drugs they make are responsible for saving more lives than any other medical breakthrough besides hygiene.
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NewScientist somewhat erroneously titled the described phenomenon "The Placebo Effect". That patient received a real intervention and then was switched to a placebo. The finding is interesting, but I'd be more tempted to call that an actual placebo effect if the patient was given saline solution in the first place without ever receiving morphine.
Furthermore, much (if not most) of the placebo effect can be attributed observational and reporting bias in studies, either on the part of the observing physician or on the part of the patient. You'll notice that placebo scores are often highest in studies that rely on a patient completing a survey asking them to quantify the effectiveness of the treatment they received, and this is usually a measure of the perceived benefit more than an objective measurement of treatment efficacy.
The placebo effect is oversold by alt-med proponents and people with a knee-jerk negative reaction to Big Pharma. They've made mistakes, to be sure, and you can't trust a pharma company to police itself, but the fact remains that the drugs they make are responsible for saving more lives than any other medical breakthrough besides hygiene.
I couldn't say the same for the placebo effect.