Controversies Surrounding Placebo

What Are The Ethics and Controversies Surrounding Placebos?

Placebos are a form of treatment that is typically prescribed by medical professionals to benefit an individual’s psychological or physiological state. The placebo is a sugar-based pill that has no active ingredient, also known as a dummy pill. A Professor named Marcello Costa stated that “the substance may have a therapeutic effect on a person when in a doctor’s office or a professional in the medical field”. Placebos are also used as a control variable when testing new medicine in clinical trials. This is to help scientists evaluate whether the new drug produced is safe for a person to consume whilst ensuring it will work effectively and efficiently. A placebo is given to a person

This will activate pathways in the brain which will stimulate and release a substance called endorphins. This is quite similar to morphine. Endorphins act like morphine which bind and cause pain relief in the body. Therefore, when responsive to positive expectations of the treatment, the brain will be engulfed in its own supply of painkillers. If an individual is experiencing pain and a physician prescribes a placebo and has not confirmed it is a sugar pill the person will expect it to have a therapeutic benefit. Placebos are a sugar-based pill that contains no active ingredient. The Placebo Effect is utilised to discover whether the pharmacological drug will have an effect on the individual. The placebo is a mind over body effect that is utilised in clinical trials and by a general practitioner. Dr. Seetal Dodd also stated that “When an individual is in an environment such as a doctor’s office it will create a therapeutic effect on one’s self”. This will ensure the drug is utilised successfully and may work in its the correct way that it has been intended to do so. Figure 1 demonstrates the placebo being utilised by the

Magne Flaten stated that this is because “all the systems are connected to the human body”. The physiological effect occurs via the autonomous system by affecting the brain causing aviation in areas that control pain or movement. This will ensure the pain vanishes as it would on morphine. Dr. Seetal stated that “Nocebo is the negative expectations of the effect of a placebo medication. This can occur when a person does not respond well to treatment for many different reasons”. Each individual has a unique genetic makeup, which means that all biological factors will react and be effected differently to another. This can be difficult for medical professionals that will need to support and cater to a wide range of unique individuals. The placebo has a physiological effect via the autonomous nervous system in our brain, meaning the relief of pain will be as if the individual has had morphine. Professor Magne Flaten stated that “This affects the brain causing aviation in areas that control pain and movement in the body”. All medical treatments are surrounded by psychosocial themes that will affect the therapeutic outcome of an individual. To accomplish this a placebo is given and the patient it made to believe it is an active pill that will be effective. The neurobiological mechanisms have been studied and the placebo has been demonstrated to be a