Placebo effects have puzzled and intrigued researchers for decades but, despite playing an important role in modern trial design and treatment development, they remain relatively mysterious. With the ...

It's been a long time since I've written about the deceptive narratives around placebos promoted by supporters of alternative ...

As the temperatures cool, the season of colds, flu, and now Covid-19 is heating up. If you’re like many people, you’ve probably stocked up on over-the-counter cold medicine to help thwart the cough ...

In the vast fields of medicine and mental health, arguably no concept is more maligned or misunderstood than the placebo effect. Even among well-intentioned scientists and healthcare professionals, ...

Let's do a thought experiment. Round up 300 harried commuters with headaches—not hard to do on the New York subway any workday at rush hour. Of course, they are probably shouting and whining, which ...

It was time for Dr. Musavi to convey the sad news. With her health rapidly declining, his patient, Mrs. Ozra, had less than two weeks to live. Summoning the family together, he encouraged them to make ...

Over the past month or so, I have seen several advertisements for different modalities for pain relief. Seeing these advertisements, which featured devices such as TENS units and ultrasound machines, ...

Recently, a team of researchers set out to study the antidepressant effects of ketamine — and stumbled upon a medical phenomenon. The double-blind study at Stanford’s School of Medicine recruited ...