Placebo effect investigated - Why does dummy medicine work?

Power of self-healing scientifically proven

No-drug sham medicines can relieve pain and aid healing when patients are unaware that they have been given placebos. Why this works, remains so far largely unclear. A German-American research team has now investigated in a study which physical mechanisms are responsible for the analgesic effect of the pseudo-drugs.

Scientists from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE) have analyzed the so-called placebo effect together with US colleagues. In around 600 images created using a magnetic resonance tomograph, the researchers were able to document the mechanisms that take place in the body when a pseudo-inflammatory drug is taken. The study results were recently published in the journal "Jama Neurology".

Although the placebo effect of sham medication is proven, the processes behind it are still largely unknown. A German-American research team is working on the deciphering of the secret. (Image: Richard Villalon / fotolia.com)

Placebo effect detected

Among other things, the researchers wanted to find out if the placebo effect alters pain management in the brain. "We could actually prove this from the data; however, this effect is very small, "comments Professor Dr. Ulrike Bingel from the Department of Neurology of the University Hospital Essen in a press release on the study results.

Small effect with great effect

The professor doubts that the slightly altered pain management alone is responsible for the positive effects of sham medication. "That alone can not be responsible for the extent of the analgesic effect," says Bingel. According to the expert, the brain networks involved in cognitive and emotional pain processing must also be considered.

Fundamentally different mode of action than real painkillers

In their research, the researchers were able to show that dummy drugs have a fundamentally different effect than real painkillers such as opioids. "The biggest difference is that opioids affect the pain management in the brain ten times more than the placebo treatment with the same analgesic - so pain-relieving effect," adds Dr. med. Matthias Zunhammer. Furthermore, the team of scientists was able to show that imaging techniques can be used to differentiate placebo effects from the effects of pharmacological substances.

More new insights into the placebo effect

Recently, scientists from the Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa presented the latest insights into the placebo effect, revealing the hitherto unbridled power of self-healing. Since stress is involved in many disease-causing mechanisms, the researchers rolled up the field from behind and examined whether positive experiences contribute to the self-healing of diseases. As Professor Asya Rolls reported, the placebo effect is still largely misunderstood and the potential for healing that emanates from it largely unused. (Vb)