The Role of the Placebo in Clinical Trials, Medical Treatments, and Birth Control Pills

A Placebo is a substance that has no treatment value whatsoever, but an individual receiving a placebo thinks he or she is receiving the treatment they need to help their symptoms so that they may feel better. A placebo is just a sham or a lie to trick individuals, but can play an important role in many aspects. Placebos have a roll in clinical trials, medical treatments, and birth control pills.

Placebos are used in clinical trials for testing new medical treatments on a controlled group of selected individuals who have been selected to participate in the clinical trial. A controlled group of individuals is a standard by which experimental observations are evaluated on the individuals who are participating in the clinical trial. Individuals who have been examined and chosen for the clinical trials are broken up into groups. Some of the individuals will be given the actual medical treatment product that is being tested in the clinical trial, and some will be given a placebo. The placebo can consist of a sugar pill, creme, liquid, or powder. The placebos are used to assess the experimental treatment's effectiveness. The participants do not know if they are receiving the actual medical treatment product or the placebo. By giving some of the participants that actual experimental medical treatment and other participants a placebo, the researchers are able to assess the experimental medical treatment's effectiveness, as well as the safety of the medical treatment of the participants.

Placebos have also been known to change a person's symptoms when they have been administered a placebo without their knowledge. According the the American Cancer Society, placebos have an effect in about 1 out of 3 patients. The patient who is taking a placebo without their knowledge may have a change in their symptoms as a result of receiving the placebo, which is also known as a placebo effect. It has been studied in the past that our mind is so powerful that it can change our own body's chemical to relieve pain or other symptoms when we think we are receiving a medication that is known to help improve our condition or lessen our symptoms when taking a placebo. There is a lot of controversy regarding the placebo effect since it may be helpful to some patients, but also can be harmful and cause negative effects, which is known as the nocebo effect. There is also a trust issue with the doctor and patients who are receiving the placebo.

Placebos are also used for birth control pills. The only reason placebos are used in birth control pills is to help the individual keep on their daily habit on taking the birth control pills. The placebo is nothing more than a sugar pill.

Although placebos are a sham and a lie, they can play an important role in many aspects to help many individuals.

http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/info/understand#Q04

http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/TreatmentTypes/placebo-effect