Open-label versus double-blind placebo treatment in irritable bowel syndrome: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Placebo medications, by definition, are composed of inactive ingredients that have no physiological effect on symptoms. Nonetheless, administration of placebo in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and in clinical settings has been demonstrated to have significant impact on many physical and psychological complaints. Until recently, conventional wisdom has suggested that patients must believe that placebo pills actually contain (or, at least, might possibly contain) active medication in order to elicit a response to placebo. However, several recent RCTs, including patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), chronic low back pain, and episodic migraine, have demonstrated that individuals receiving open-label placebo (OLP) can still experience symptomatic improvement and

SUBMITTER: Ballou S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5445390 | biostudies-literature | 2017 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature