SocraticGadfly: Placebo effect strengthens - as does schadenfreude

September 15, 2009

Placebo effect strengthens - as does schadenfreude

Some would-be new antidepressants can't get to market because they can't pass
clinical trials. They can't pass clinical trials because the placebo effect is
getting stronger.

No, it's not less effective drugs, and it's not just anti-Ds or anxiety drugs,
either. Non-psychotropics are having the same problem in a few instances, and
it's clear that, yes, the placebo effect is getting stronger.

And, that it varies in different parts of the U.S., and in different parts of
the world. And, that beyond just being given a pill, things like pill dosage
frequency and even COLOR of the pill are causative factors.

That said, my first feeling for Big Pharma was, of course, schadenfreude.

The full story is here. And, later on, it notes how Big Pharma is now studying the placebo effect to, of course, try to make a buck off of it.

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