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THE POWERFUL PLACEBO

Henry K. Beecher, M.D.
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Read before the Section on Surgery, General and Abdominal, at the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Medical Association, Atlantic City, June 7, 1955.


Boston

From the Anesthesia Laboratory of the Harvard Medical School at the Massachusetts General Hospital.


JAMA. 1955;159(17):1602-1606. doi:10.1001/jama.1955.02960340022006
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Placebos have doubtless been used for centuries by wise physicians as well as by quacks, but it is only recently that recognition of an enquiring kind has been given the clinical circumstance where the use of this tool is essential "... to distinguish pharmacological effects from the effects of suggestion, and... to obtain an unbiased assessment of the result of experiment." It is interesting that Pepper could say as recently as 10 years ago "apparently there has never been a paper published discussing [primarily] the important subject of the placebo." In 1953 Gaddum1 said:

Such tablets are sometimes called placebos, but it is better to call them dummies. According to the Shorter Oxford Dictionary the word placebo has been used since 1811 to mean a medicine given more to please than to benefit the patient. Dummy tablets are not particularly noted for the pleasure which they give to their recipients.

REFERENCES

Gaddum, J. H.:  Walter Ernest Dixon Memorial Lecture: Clinical Pharmacology , Proc. Roy. Soc. Med. 47:195-204, 1954;.
Beecher, H. K.:  The Subjective Response and Reaction to Sensation: The Reaction Phase as the Site of Effective Drug Action , Am. J. Med. , to be published.
Beecher, H. K.; Keats, A. S.; Mosteller, F., and Lasagna, L.:  The Effectiveness of Oral Analgesics (Morphine, Codeine, Acetylsalicylic Acid) and the Problem of Placebo "Reactors" and "Non-Reactors," J. Pharmacol. & Exper. Therap. 109:393-400, 1953;.
Lasagna, L.; Masteller, F.; von Felsinger, J. M., and Beecher, H. K.:  A Study of the Placebo Response , Am. J. Med. 16:770-779, 1954;.
Wolf, S., and Pinsky, R. H.:  Effects of Placebo Administration and Occurrence of Toxic Reactions , J. A. M. A. 155:339-341 ( (May 22) ) 1954;.
Abbot, F. K.; Mack, M., and Wolf, S.:  The Action of Banthine on the Stomach and Duodenum of Man with Observations on the Effects of Placebos , Gastroenterology 20:249-261, 1952;.
Wolf, S.:  Effects of Suggestion and Conditioning on the Action of Chemical Agents in Human Subjects—the Pharmacology of Placebos , J. Clin. Invest. 29:100-109, 1950;.
Wolff, H. G.; DuBois, E. F., and Gold, H., in  Cornell Conferences on Therapy: Use of Placebos in Therapy , New York J. Med. 46:1718-1727, 1946;.
Beecher, H. K.:  Appraisal of Drugs Intended to Alter Subjective Responses, Symptoms, report to Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry , J. A. M. A. :399-401 ( (June 4) ) 1955;.

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Gaddum, J. H.:  Walter Ernest Dixon Memorial Lecture: Clinical Pharmacology , Proc. Roy. Soc. Med. 47:195-204, 1954;.
Beecher, H. K.:  The Subjective Response and Reaction to Sensation: The Reaction Phase as the Site of Effective Drug Action , Am. J. Med. , to be published.
Beecher, H. K.; Keats, A. S.; Mosteller, F., and Lasagna, L.:  The Effectiveness of Oral Analgesics (Morphine, Codeine, Acetylsalicylic Acid) and the Problem of Placebo "Reactors" and "Non-Reactors," J. Pharmacol. & Exper. Therap. 109:393-400, 1953;.
Lasagna, L.; Masteller, F.; von Felsinger, J. M., and Beecher, H. K.:  A Study of the Placebo Response , Am. J. Med. 16:770-779, 1954;.
Wolf, S., and Pinsky, R. H.:  Effects of Placebo Administration and Occurrence of Toxic Reactions , J. A. M. A. 155:339-341 ( (May 22) ) 1954;.
Abbot, F. K.; Mack, M., and Wolf, S.:  The Action of Banthine on the Stomach and Duodenum of Man with Observations on the Effects of Placebos , Gastroenterology 20:249-261, 1952;.
Wolf, S.:  Effects of Suggestion and Conditioning on the Action of Chemical Agents in Human Subjects—the Pharmacology of Placebos , J. Clin. Invest. 29:100-109, 1950;.
Wolff, H. G.; DuBois, E. F., and Gold, H., in  Cornell Conferences on Therapy: Use of Placebos in Therapy , New York J. Med. 46:1718-1727, 1946;.
Beecher, H. K.:  Appraisal of Drugs Intended to Alter Subjective Responses, Symptoms, report to Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry , J. A. M. A. :399-401 ( (June 4) ) 1955;.
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