A placebo is a substance or treatment that has no active therapeutic effect, but it can produce a perceived or actual improvement in a patient’s condition because the patient believes they are receiving treatment. In clinical trials, placebos are used to test the effectiveness of new treatments. The group receiving the placebo is compared to the group receiving the actual treatment to see if the active treatment works beyond the power of belief or expectation.
Placebos can come in many forms, such as saline injections, or dummy interventions. While they don’t have direct biological effects, their impact can be significant when patients experience relief or improvement due to the belief that they are being treated.