Kritische Analyse der wissenschaftlichen Basis des sogenannten Placeboeffekts

Journal/Book: Erfahrungsheilkunde. 1997; 5: 298-307.

Abstract: For forty years the therapeutic placebo effect has been regarded as a scientific fact, since Henry K. Beecher published his seminal and influential article "The Powerful Placebo" in 1955. It is generally supposed that the suggestive administration of an inert pill can have a therapeutic effect in about one third or more of all patients. Today the presumed Placebo effect is attributed a magnitude of even an average of 70% of patients with a wide variety of diseases.800 articles were critically reanalysed with regard to the question of whether a therapeutic placebo effect was actually demonstrated, as claimed. In contrast to these widespread claims, the present analysis f 24, 251 shows, that no therapeutic placebo effect has been convincingly demonstrated in any of these studies. A multitude of factor-, counterfeit placebo effects: spontaneous improvement, spontaneous fluctuation of symptoms, regression to the mean, additional treatment, selection bias, scaling bias, irrelevant outcome measures, specifically effective "Placebos", polite answers and experimental Subordination, severe methodological flaws, misquotation, etc. Altogether, the widespread statements about the size and frequency of Placebo effects are unjustified, largely exaggerated if not entirely wrong.

Keyword(s): Placebo

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