Rebranding The Placebo Effect

Any open-minded, intelligent and informed person knows that virtually all of alternative medicine is ineffective, harmful or only helpful through the placebo effect.  Some in the alternative medicine community are capitalizing on this recognition of alternative medicine's placebo effect by actually promoting it.  Click here for the story behind the co-opting of placebo effects as evidence for “powerful mind-body healing.”

The Placebo Effect 101

Steven Novella has posted on his NeuroLogica blog a good presentation of the placebo effect, emphasizing its psychological factors.

Harriet Hall has posted on the Science-Based Medicine blog another good presentation of the placebo effect, but emphasizing its physiological rather that psychological factors.