There are anecdotal accounts of remarkable placebo effects. Since these 'anecdotes' are from doctors, perhaps they are not to be taken too lightly.
I read of a case in which a man with a tumour was offered an experimental drug which the doctor assured him was very effective. The tumour shrank away until the patient read in the newspaper that this particular drug was no longer considered effective. At this point the tumour started to grow again. The doctor then told the patient that he was injecting him with a better version of the drug and that the press report was incomplete. The tumour shrank again, until the unfortunate patient read that the drug had been withdrawn completely. His tumour then grew unchecked and killed him!
The exact details are a bit vague, but the essence of the story is as above.
There is also a joke, which I have seen mentioned in several places, that drugs seem to be most effective shortly after they have been discovered - again presumably because of the placebo effect.
David  |