A ‘systematic’ review of health retreats: more advertising than science

This systematic review aimed to identify and explore published studies on the health, wellbeing and economic impact of retreat experiences. Three electronic databases were searched for residential retreat studies published in English. Studies were included, if they involved an intervention program in a residential setting of one or more nights, and included before-and-after data related […]

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Many physicians using homeopathy employ it as a placebo

Some doctors use homeopathy, and for proponents of homeopathy this has always been a strong argument for its effectiveness. They claim that someone who has studied medicine would not employ a therapy that does not work. I have long felt that this view is erroneous.

This article goes some way in finding out who is […]

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How effective are positive messages?

It used to be called ‘good bedside manners’. The term is an umbrella for a range of attitudes and behaviours including compassion, empathy and conveying positive messages. What could be more obvious than the assumption that good bedside manners are better than bad ones? 

But as sceptics, we need to doubt obvious assumptions! Where is […]

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If you are unable to make your patient feel better without resorting to quackery, become a pathologist

‘The use of a harmless alternative therapy is not necessarily wrong. Even if the treatment itself is just a placebo, it can help many patients. Some patients feel better with it, and it would be arrogant, high-handed and less than compassionate to reject such therapies simply because they are not supported by sufficient scientific evidence’.

How often have I heard this notion in one or another form?

I hear such words almost every day.

Arguments along these lines are difficult to counter. Any attempt to do so is likely to make us look blinkered, high-handed and less than compassionate...

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Two fascinating new studies of the placebo response | Edzard Ernst

The placebo response might be important in clinical practice, but it is certainly difficult to study and the findings of such investigations can be confusing. This seems to be exemplified by two new trials.

The first study examined the possibility of using theatrical performance tools, including stage directions and scripting, to reproducibly manipulate the style and […]

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Placebo effects do not turn an ineffective therapy into an effective one | Edzard Ernst

The subject of placebo is a complex but fascinating one, particularly for those interested in alternative medicine. Most sceptics believe that alternative therapies rely heavily, if not entirely, on the placebo effect. Some alternative practitioners, when unable to produce convincing evidence that their treatment is effective, seem to have now settled to admitting that their therapy works (mostly […]

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The telling tale of the ‘PLACEBO BANKER’ | Edzard Ernst

One argument I hear over and over again; it could be called ‘the fallacy of the benign placebo’ and goes like this:

• Alright, I accept that the evidence for xy isn’t brilliant. 
• I might even accept it is a pure placebo therapy. 
• But that is not important. 
• What counts is that it helps suffering patients. 
• Who cares […]

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Placebo = the illusion of a cure | Edzard Ernst

The following short passage originates from the abstract of an article that I published in 1998; it is entitled TOWARDS A RISK BENEFIT EVALUATION OF PLACEBOS:

the benefits of placebos are often not clearly defined. Generally speaking, the potential for benefit is considerable. The risks are similarly ill defined. Both direct and indirect risks are conceivable. On balance, […]

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Placebo effects are weak: regression to the mean is the main reason ineffective treatments appear to work

DC's Improbable Science: Truth, falsehood and evidence: investigations of dubious and dishonest science

“Statistical regression to the mean predicts that patients selected for abnormalcy will, on the average, tend to improve. We argue that most improvements attributed to the placebo effect are actually instances of statistical regression.” “Thus, we urge caution in interpreting patient improvements as causal effects of our actions and should avoid the conceit of assuming that [...]


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Placebo effects: at the core of all health care | Edzard Ernst

Placebo effects are important and often misunderstood. This is perhaps nowhere more true than in the realm of alternative medicine. Here they are often used to justify bogus treatments with the argument ‘I DON’T CARE HOW IT WORKS AS LONG AS IT DOES HELP PATIENTS, EVEN IF THIS SHOULD BE VIA A PLACEBO EFFECT’.

A recent article published in […]

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