A pharmacologically inactive substance that is used as a control for the psychological effects of receiving treatment.
An inactive treatment or neutral stimuli given to a "control group" of a scientific study.
A medicine that is inactive but improves the patient's condition because the patient believes it will work. Also seen as the improvement that may occur in a condition without any medical intervention.
a substance which is identical in appearance to a drug or medication. It is not an active substance.
This is a harmless, "inactive" substance which may be given in the placeof an effective drug or substance, especially to "control groups" in clinical studies.
An inactive substance ("sugar pill") used in research, to compare the effects of a given treatment against no treatment.
An inactive or dummy treatment administered to the control group in order that the specific and non-specific effects of the experimental treatment can be distinguished. The placebo may be used in screening or washout periods or used as a comparator to determine the efficacy of a medication.
an inert substance given as a medicine for its suggestive effects.
Any inactive therapy or chemical agent, or any attribute or component of such a therapy or chemical, that affects a person's behaviour for reasons related to his or her expectation of change.
A "dummy" medication ("sugar pill") having no specific activity or action in the body. With a pill taken by mouth (orally), for example, the placebo is a pill identical in appearance to the pill with the active medicine. Subjects are given a placebo to test for the psychological aspects of giving the medicine - that is, some people complain of side effects (nausea, headache) and even improve with a placebo.
(n) [L I shall please] an inactive substance given to satisfy a patient's demand for medication
A pill containing no medication that is given to reinforce a individual's expectation they will feel better. This technique is used to test a drugs effectiveness.
the ability of our compassion to contribute incremental healing from a fake medicine and procedure
A substance that has no effect on a patient. It is sometimes given to members of the control group during an experimental trial.
commonly known as a "sugar pill"; a treatment given during clinical trials to distinguish the effects of an experimental drug.
An inactive substance that may be given to participants as part of a clinical study. Placebos are not used in clinical trials for treatment for cancer patients.
In medical practice, a term for a chemically inert substance that produces real medical benefits because the patient believes it will help her.
A fake treatment (often the same formulation used for the real product, but without the active ingredient) administered to the control group in a controlled clinical trial so that the specific and nonspecific effects of the experimental treatment can be distinguished. The experimental treatment must produce better results than the placebo to be considered effective.
Describes a product that has no real efficacy in itself but which may act via a psychological mechanism if the person using it thinks he or she is receiving active treatment.
A fake pill. In many studies, researchers will give some people a placebo so they can measure how much better (or worse) people do when they are given the real medication. Placebos are usually nothing more than sugar pills.
An inert, inactive substance. In placebo-controlled drug studies, a placebo is given to one group of patients, while the drug being tested is given to another group. The results obtained in the two groups are then compared.
A pharmacologically inactive substance primarily used in experiments to provide a basis for comparison with pharmacologically active substances.
A placebo is a pill that looks exactly like medication, but contains no active ingredients. In a placebo-controlled trial, the effects of placebo are compared to the effects of the identical-looking real medication to make sure the benefits or side-effects of the medication are not a result of the patient's expectations or beliefs about what the medication will do (the "placebo effect").
a substance that has no chemically relevant effect on a test subject. often given to members of the control group during experimental trials that test the effects of a drug or other substance.
A pill or liquid which looks and tastes exactly like a real drug, but contains no active substance.
Any dummy medical treatment, originally, a medicinal preparation having no specific pharmacological activity against the patients illness or complaint given solely for the psychophysiological effects of the treatment, more recently, a dummy treatment administered to the control group in a controlled clinical trial in order that the specific and nonspecific effects of the experimental treatment can be distinguished i.e., the experimental treatment must produce better results than the placebo in order to be considered effective.
An inactive product used for testing against the active drug to better understand the actions of the active drug.
An inactive substance (may look like the real medication) against which investigational treatments are compared for efficacy and safety. See Placebo Controlled Study.
A placebo is an inactive substance presented in the same form, i.e., pill, cream, liquid, powder, as the experimental drug. In clinical trials, experimental treatments are often compared with placebo treatments to assess the treatment's effectiveness. In some studies, the participants in the control group will receive a placebo instead of an active drug or treatment.
Some clinical studies compare an experimental treatment to another treatment. The non-experimental treatment is sometimes referred to as a "placebo," a word that comes from the Latin for "I shall please." Originally, placebos were drugs that were thought to have no medicinal effect (positive or negative). Such "drugs" were given to appease people who had physical or mental complaints of no known cause. In this context, placebos came to be known as "sugar pills." More recently, the word placebo has come to mean different things to different people. In the context of clinical trials, a "placebo treatment" often refers to treatment that is indistinguishable from the treatment that is under investigation. Most commonly, this would be a pill of capsule of the same size and color but containing a harmless, inactive substance. Participants have the right to know (a) whether they may be assigned to a placebo group and the probability of that assignment and (b) the nature of the placebo treatment.
A comparison substance against which experimental drugs are sometimes compared. A placebo may be either a standard treatment or an inactive substance. In placebo-controlled trials the control group takes placebo, while the test group takes an experimental drug. Many such studies are also double-blinded, which means that neither doctors nor patients know who is receiving drug or placebo.
An inactive substance or treatment, such as a sugar pill, injection of sterile water, or sham medical device, that is given under the guise of treatment to separate the effects of the actual treatment being evaluated from psychological or other effects.
placebo, inert chemical substance used instead of a DRUG. Placebos contain no medicine, but many patients show medical improvement when given a placebo or an ineffective treatment, a result known as the placebo effect. Because of this, placebos are used as controls in drug testing to assure unbiased, reliable results. In double-blind studies, both patient and doctor do not know whether a placebo or drug is administered. A traditional placebo’s lack of side effects, however, often identifies it, so an older drug is sometimes used in drug tests instead of or in addition to a placebo. 1
A non-active treatment applied as a control in a study where psychological factors could affect the outcome. This allows the observation and quantification of any procedural effects involved in the trial that have nothing to do with any administered treatment. See also Placebo effect.
A treatment that has no active ingredients, such as a sugar pill or an IV infusion of an inactive colored liquid. In scientific studies, people taking a placebo are compared to people taking a drug under investigation.
a pill that looks like the experimental drug but does not contain any active ingredients
Drug or treatment that is designed to look like the medicine being tested but doesn't have the active ingredient. Placebos are rarely used in cancer treatment trials.
an inactive substance which resembles medication given as a control in a clinical trial which the experimental drug is compared to
Substance lacking in medicinal value that is used in research as a point of comparison for treatments.
The thing you give a study subject who has been assigned to the control group to make them think they are getting the treatment you are studying.
An inactive substance which is administered during a clinical trial to determine the effectiveness of a drug. Patients receiving the placebo serve as the reference for comparison to the patients who received the drug under examination.
A substance used in testing that has no known physical effect on the body. It may have a powerful psychological effect, however.
A substance that does not contain any active medication.
An inactive substance given to some study participants, while others receive the test substance (e.g., a vaccine). Placebos provide a basis for comparison. (See control.)
In an experimental study a nontreatment of pseudo-treatment which is believed to be effective by the subject.
an innocuous or inert medication; given as a pacifier or to the control group in experiments on the efficacy of a drug
a alternative substance that contains no mind-alteringn chemicals, but has a similar effect on
a chemically ineffective treatment, such as a sugar pill, given to patients who believe it works
a chemically inert substance that has the power to heal or relieve symptoms entirely because the recipient believes that it is, in fact, medicine
a device that looks exactly like the treatment being evaluated but is without any specific effect, i
a drug or treatment that has no active ingredient
a drug or treatment that provides no medical benefit except for the patient's belief that it will help
a dummy tablet or capsule which contains no active medication
a fake medicine or procedure given with the suggestion that it will cure a symptom, but (unknown to the patient) has no known drug-based effect
a fake pill that contains no medicine, but that looks exactly like the tested treatment
a fake pill that really has no medicine
a false product, used especially for medical tests
a false, pseudo medicine, with no medicinal qualities in it, but it has to be given in such a way that the patient thinks it is medicine
a harmless, inactive product used to compare results of the active drug or treatment being studied and to learn more about its actions
a harmless, inactive substance that may be used in investigational studies to compare the effects of an experimental drug with those of an inactive agent
a harmless pill (usually made of sugar or starch)
a harmless substance given to one group of patients in the trial and it is similar in taste and appearance to a new drug which is given to a second group of patients
a harmless, unmedicated pill used in controlled tests to determine whether or not an experimental medicine works against a specific disease
a look-alike tablet that has no medical effects
a medical treatment (operation, therapy, chemical solution, pill, etc
a medical treatment (pill, injection, surgery, or mere hand-waving) that has no intrinsic therapeutic value as defined by Western medicine
a medication that is made of an inert substance
an effect, not merely a thing
a neutral substance (like sugared water) which is given to a patient in the guise of an active medication
an imitation medicine, dressed up like an authentic pill and given to patients who think they are receiving the real thing
an imitation treatment that looks the same as the experimental treatment (such as a sugar pill) but has no effect
an inactive ingredient or pill used in some types of clinical trials to help make sure results are unbiased
an inactive pill, liquid or powder that has no effect on the human body
an inactive product used to compare the results of the study drug
an inactive substance exactly similar in appearance to the active substance being tested
an inactive substance given to a patient, in order for their data to be used later as a control
an inactive treatment, either in the form of an inert pill for studying a new drug treatment or an inactive procedure for studying a psychological therapy
an inactive treatment that is identical in all other ways to the intervention
an ineffective treatment given in a controlled study as a reference
an inert substance or dosage form which is identical in appearance, flavor and odour to the active substance or dosage form
an inert substance, or "fake" surgery or therapy, used as a control in an experiment or given to a patient for its possible or probable beneficial effect
an inert substance or procedure which is presented to the patient as a powerful therapeutic drug or technique and which often leads to a dramatic recovery from a serious physical illness
an inert substance or sham procedure that is not chemically or physically able to produce an effect
an inert substance, such as a sugar pill, given to someone as a test to observe its possible effect when measured against the effect when another person is given the actual drug
an intervention that physically resembles the intervention being tested, but is inert and not expected to have any pharmacological effect on the condition being treated
a non "active" pill or potion
a non-active treatment such as a pill which looks like the real thing but is not
a non-active type II collagen look-alike)
a non-drug, such as a sugar pill
a non-medication, or inactive treatment that is used to satisfy a patient's psychological need for medicine
an operation, a chemical solution or a pill, which doctors administer as if it were a therapy, but which they suppose to have no therapeutic value
a pharmacologically inert capsule, injection or procedure
a pill or liquid which a patient takes, thinking it contains some beneficial medicine when in fact it doesn't contain any medicine at all
a pill that doesn't do anything
a pill used in medical tests to determine the effectiveness of a medication
a pill without medication
a pretend drug or a look-alike therapy, best known today for use in clinical trials of new treatments
a "pretend" medicine that looks real but is not active
a product that mimics a drug but contains no active ingredient and is normally classified as a food preparation, a classification for which Prior Notice would be required
a replacement pill that looks the same but has no active ingredient in it
a substance containing no medication, which is used in an experiment as a control
a substance or formulation (e
a substance or preparation used especially in controlled experiments to determine the effectiveness of another substance (as a medicinal drug)
a substances without proper activity (inert) on the condition treated and replacing an active medicament in order to control or to evoke psychological effects which accompany the intake of a medicine
a substance that appears to be identical to the treatment under study but that has no effects on the test subject
a substance that doesn't contain any medication
a substance that has no pharmacological effect on the condition for which it is used, but is given to satisfy a patient who supposes it to be a medicine
a substance that is given to patients, which they are told will provide effective treatment, but in reality should not have any significant effect
a substance that looks like a trial medication but does not contain active drug
a substance that looks like medicine, but is not
a substance that looks like the real drug but has no biologic effect
a substance which has no medical properties but has the same form, eg tablet or cream, as the active medicine
a sugar pill, a harmless shot, or an empty capsule
a supplement that looks and tastes identical to the "active" supplement, but does not provide any of the actual ingredients being investigated
a supposedly inert substance or ineefectual technique originally used as a control in an experiment
a tablet, which looks exactly like the active drug but actually contains no effective substance in it
a treatment that does not contain the active drug ingredient
a treatment that has no effect of its own, but patients think it will work better, so they mentally convince themselves they feel better with it
a treatment that is actually ineffective but has the psychological effect of making the patient feel better
a treatment that is ineffective (eg a dummy tablet) but has the psychological effect of making you feel better
a treatment that is known to have no biological effect but that may affect outcomes in other ways
a treatment that is made to look like one of the treatments that is being studied in a trial
a treatment which doctors suppose to have no intrinsic therapeutic value, but administer as if it were a therapy
a useless medicine or procedure that is presented to the patient as an effective or possibly effective cure
a harmless substance given as medicine, usually to humo' some patient. Man
An inactive look-alike drug used in prevention trials to evaluate the effectiveness of a new treatment.
An inactive look-alike drug (or other intervention). Placebos may be used in trials evaluating the effectiveness of a new drug or other treatment.
Inactive substance used in scientific studies. In clinical tests, new treatments are compared with placebo to make sure that any improvements are not the result of chance.
A look-alike "sugar pill" that is compared with an experimental treatment in a clinical trial. Placebos can be used when there is no other proven treatment for the disease being studied or when there is no immediate danger to withholding treatment temporarily.
any form of treatment (e.g., medication) that produces an effect in the client because of its intent rather than its chemical or physical properties
A tablet, capsule, or injection that looks like the drug or other substance being tested but contains no drug.
a medicinal preparation having no specific pharmacological activity against a patient's illness or complaint; given solely for the psychophysiological effects of the treatment.
Any dummy medical treatment, such as a chalk pill, usually used in trials where the experimental drug produces far better results than a controlled group taking placebos to be considered effective.
a control, inactive substance (especially with no effect of its own) against which a “real†medication may be tested in a patient. The “real†medication is supposed to give the desired effect, while a placebo does nothing. However, a patient who claims the placebo is doing something, may be telling the truth. Some people are ready to believe in any “medicine.†(In fact, placebo is Latin for I please, and was indeed given by physicians just to satisfy the patient that something was being done to help.)
A treatment with no medication in it (eg, a sugar pill or injection of saline). Sometimes patients in clinical trials are given a placebo so that researchers can compare it to the effects of a medication.
A pill that is given in a randomized study that has no active ingredient.
A pill or infusion that has no active ingredients but looks just like a regular pill or infusion.
an inactive treatment assignment; "dummy" drug or device
Also called a dummy pill, a substance that contains no medicinal ingredients. Often used in scientific studies as a control so its effects can be compared with those of the medication or supplement under study.
a dummy medicine that has no physiological effect.
A substance containing no medication that is used as a control in an experiment to determine the effectiveness of a medication; also called a "sugar pill."
A substance having no medication that is administered for its psychological effect on a patient. Used as a control in an experiment.
pla-SEE-bo An inert substance used as an experimental control. 25
A treatment that to all intents and purpose appears to be the same as the known treatment that is being assessed, but which does not have an active ingredient.
A harmless dummy drug, used in research trials, which looks and tastes identical to the active preparation but is chemically inert. Participants in double-blind drug trials are not told whether they are taking the real medication or the placebo in order to guard again 'the placebo effect' where benefit occurs because of the person's belief that the drug will have a positive effect.
A fake medicine "candy/sugar pill" or treatment that has no effect on the body.
A technique or drug that may help to relieve a condition but has no medical or physical benefit. Placebos are often used in trials of new drugs to distinguish between the medical and psychological affects of taking a medication.
an 'armless substance given as medicine, usually to 'umor a patient.
An inactive treatment often given to a control group.
A treatment, often a drug, designed to look like the medicine being tested but that doesn't contain any active ingredient. Some people call a placebo a "sugar pill." Placebos are almost never used in cancer treatment trials.
A substance that has no effect on the body that is given to onegroup in a placebo-controlled trial. Often referred to as a sugar pill.
An inert substance, such as a sugar pill. A placebo may be used in clinical trials to compare the effects of a given treatment against no treatment.
A medically inactive substance that is used in controlled studies to determine the effectiveness of a test drug. Placebos have been shown to lessen symptoms in some people, most likely because of the individual's positive attitude about treatment.
An inactive substance administered to a patient, usually to compare its effects with those of a real drug.
An inactive or inert substance, which is identical in appearance to the product under investigation.
A placebo is a fake, dummy or sham treatment that is given to people in the control group of a clinical trial. A placebo is meant to look, smell, taste and/or feel the same as the real treatment, so that people can't distinguish whether they are receiving the real treatment or the placebo. The difference is that a placebo is inactive and harmless. Some examples of a placebo include sugar pills, starch pills, or "fake" surgery.
An inert substance often used in clinical trials for comparison.
A pill with no active ingredients, such as a sugar pill. Placebo is often used in a clinical trial as a standard against which to test and compare the efficacy and safety of another drug. Close Window
A medical preparation which lacks the active ingredient
Originally a Latin word meaning 'I will please'. Now used for inactive substance (sham) given to participants of a research study in order to test the efficacy of another substance or treatment. In shortterm clinical trials, many of the most valued drugs in clinical use are only about 25% more effective than placebo. Scientists often have to compare the effects of active and inactive substances to learn more about how the active substance affects participants; in such studies both doctor and patient are unaware of who is receiving the active or inactive substance. Such studies are known as double blind placebo controlled studies.
A sugar pill or injection of sterile water given to patients or subjects of epidemiological study as part of a controlled investigation to test a drug' or therapy's effectiveness.
a form of safe but non-active treatment frequently used as a basis for comparison with pharmaceuticals in research studies
An inactive substance, used in experiments to distinguish between actual drug effects and effects that are expected by the volunteers in the experiments.
An inactive substance designed to resemble the drug being tested.
an inactive substance designed to resemble the vaccine (or treatment) being studied. Participants taking a placebo form the control group in blinded clinical trials.
An inactive substance that looks identical to the study drug.
An inert substance or intervention designed to appear the same as the experimental substance or intervention, but which has no physiological effect.
an inactive pill, liquid, or powder that has no treatment value. In clinical trials, experimental treatments are often compared to a placebo to assess the treatment's effectiveness. In some studies, the participants in a control group will receive a placebo instead of an active drug or treatment.
A mock treatment or drug that has no effect on the illness, given in a clinical trial to the control group to help differentiate the specific versus nonspecific effects of the experimental treatment.
A substance or procedure with no intrinsic therapeutic value administered to a control group in a clinical study. Comparison with the results obtained from the study group determine the efficacy of the therapy being administered to the study group.
An inactive pill or sham procedure given to a participant in a research study as part of a test of the effects of another substance or treatment. Scientists use placebos to get a true picture of how the substance or treatment under investigation affects participants. In recent years, the definition of placebo has been expanded to include such things as aspects of interactions between patients and their health care providers that may affect their expectations and the study's outcomes.
An inactive substance or procedure used as a control agent
Dummy treatment used in some research trials. One group of patients will get the new treatment and another group will get the dummy treatment. The patients will not know which they are getting and so will not unconsciously affect the results.
An inactive medication given as a control in some clinical trials.
A pharmacologically inactive substance. Often used to compare clinical responses against the effects of pharmacologically active substances in experiments.
An imitation of a medical treatment. This can be an inactive substance (eg, a sugar pill) or some other form of treatment which simulates a medical treatment, but should have no physiological effect. A placebo is given to a person, often as an experimental control, to enable comparison with the effects of a real drug or treatment.
An inactive substance that looks the same as, and is administered in the same way as, a drug in a clinical trial.
A substance or treatment that has no effect on human beings.
A substance that has no effect on the body (often referred to as a "sugar pill") and that is given to one group in a controlled trial. Placebo trials are no longer considered ethical in trials for which a standard treatment exists. Their use remains controversial.
an inactive substance that often looks like a tablet, injection or other medication, given to people instead of an active drug during some clinical studies. People taking placebo are often compared to those taking an active drug to judge the effectiveness and safety of the active medication.
An inactive substance or dummy treatment administered to a control group to compare its' effects with a real substance, drug or treatment.
substance that has no medical effect but is administered as a control in testing of pharmaceuticals.
A drug or procedure with no intrinsic therapeutic value. In a randomized clinical trial, a placebo is given to patients in control groups as a means to blind investigators and patients as to whether an individual is receiving the experimental or control treatment.
An inactive substance given as a control to study participants to compare with the effects of the substance under investigation
An inactive substance or treatment given to patients in a study which has been created to resemble the active treatment.
Compound with no real effect on the body (usually sugar) that is identical in appearance to the drug that is undergoing experimental research.
A placebo is a substance, made to look like medicine, that actually does nothing. Its purpose is to control a study of a real medicine.
Placebo is an inactive treatment often given to controls in trials. The placebo is delivered in a form that is identical to the active treatment being tested in the trial, in order to eliminate psychological effects on the outcome.
an inactive substance given to a control group in a clinical trial. This placebo is sometimes called a sugar pill because some of these control groups are given common substances, such as sugar, disguised as medication.
A dummy pill that contains no active ingredient.
a pill (or capsule, liquid, or injection) that contains an inactive substance. It is used in comparison to the experimental drug in placebo-controlled clinical trials.
An inactive, harmless substance with no direct beneficial effects. Usually used in clinical studies for comparison to measure the effectiveness of an experimental drug or regimen.
A substance containing no active ingredients and having no pharmacological effects. Clinical trials often compare an investigational medication to a placebo in order to differentiate patient response.
substances having no pharmacological effect.
An inactive pill, liquid, or powder that has no treatment value (a "sugar pill"). In a placebo-controlled trial, a new treatment being studied is given to one group, and a placebo to another group, to compare the effectiveness of the two (see controlled study). Ethical guidelines for conducting research experiments dictate that no sick person will receive a placebo if there is a known beneficial treatment. A "placebo-controlled study" is one in which the control group receives a placebo and the other group receives the treatment being studied.
An inactive substance or treatment that looks the same as, and is given the same way as, an active drug or treatment being tested. The effects of the active drug or treatment are compared to the effects of the placebo. The use of placebos in cancer treatment studies is very uncommon.
An inactive substance designed to mimic the experimental treatment is called a placebo.
an inactive substance given to satisfy a patient's psychological need for medication or used in studies testing the efficacy of a new drug.
An inactive substance that looks exactly like a drug being tested in a clinical trial
An inactive or ‘dummyâ€(tm) form of treatment that has no effect, used in research trials. One group of participants are given a new treatment whilst the other group are given a placebo. This assists researchers by maximising the objectivity of the results – because the participants are unaware of which substance they are taking, they are not able to consciously or unconsciously influence their reaction. Sometimes the researcher is also unaware of the group that has been allocated the placebo treatment– this is called a ‘double-blindâ€(tm) experiment. The ‘placebo effectâ€(tm) refers to an individualâ€(tm)s ability to experience the alleviation or worsening of symptoms despite taking a neutral substance, attributable to the expectation of an effect.
A substance containing no medication and prescribed or given to reinforce a patient's expectation to get well, or an inactive substance or preparation used as a control in an experiment or test to determine the effectiveness of a medicinal drug.
an inactive substance or treatment given to satisfy a patient's expectation for treatment. In some controlled trials (particularly investigations of drug treatments) placebos that are made to be indistinguishable by patients (and providers when possible) from the true intervention are given to the control group to be used as a comparative basis for determining the effect of the investigational treatment.
An oral or topical formulation without this active ingredient, used for comparison with the active medication in controlled clinical studies.
An inactive substance (often referred to as a sugar pill) used to compare and or determine whether improvement and/or side effects reflect imagination or anticipation of the actual treatment
An inert or innocuous substance used especially in controlled experiments to test and compare the efficacy of another, active, substance
An inactive substance which has no effect on the body
a pharmacologically inactive substance given as a control in testing the efficacy of a drug
An inactive drug used as a control in a medical study. It looks the same as the drug being studied and is administered in the same way. In order to be proven acceptable, the experimental drug must produce better results than the placebo.
Sometimes casually referred to as a "sugar pill," a placebo is a "fake" treatment which seems identical to the real treatment. Placebo treatments are used to eliminate bias that may arise from the expectation that a treatment should produce an effect.
An inactive substance or preparation used as a control in an experiment or test to determine the effectiveness of a medicinal drug. Back to the top Back to the top Back to the top
An inactive substance given to patients in a control group of a clinical trial.
An inactive agent given as a substitute for an active agent for the purpose of comparison.
An inactive substance or preparation that looks like real medicine. It is sometimes called a sugar pill.
an inactive substance administered to some study participants while others receive the agent under evaluation, to provide a basis for comparison of effects.
A chemically inert substance given in the guise of medicine for its psychologically suggestive effect; used in controlled clinical trials to determine whether improvement and side effects may reflect imagination or anticipation rather than actual power of a drug.
A harmless substance that looks identical to the drug on trial.
(pla-see'bo)- An inactive substance resembling a medication, given for psychological effect or as a control in evaluating a medicine believed to be active. It is usually a tablet, capsule, or injection that contains a harmless substance but appears to be the same as the medicine being tested. A placebo may be compared with a new drug when no one knows if any drug or treatment will be effective.
A placebo looks like a drug, but is actually an inactive substance that is not expected to have any effect on your health. Sometimes a placebo is called a 'dummy pill' or 'sugar pill'. Old placebos were often true 'sugar pills', but modern placebos usually do not contain sugar. A research study may also use a placebo for a medical device or procedure. For instance, a placebo device could look like the real device, but not actually function.
A preparation without medication.
A placebo is an inactive pill, substance or other intervention that is believed not to affect the disease or condition being studied. (One example of a placebo is a so-called "sugar pill.") In some research studies, some of the subjects will receive the experimental intervention and some will receive a placebo. The results of using the experimental intervention can then be compared with the results of using the placebo. Use of a placebo is intended to help investigators determine whether or not the subject's response is the result of the experimental intervention. There are ethical guidelines to help ensure that the use of placebos does not cause any serious or lasting harm to research subjects.
a substance having no pharmacological effect that if given as a control in testing experimentally or clinically the efficacy of another substance
a mock-treatment used in single-blind or double-blind experiments to eliminate bias from experiment subjects or administrators, respectively.
An inactive substance used as a comparison with an active drug.
Inert medication or treatment that produces psychological benefit
A pill that carries no actual medicine.
A procedure or product with no therapeutic value. Commonly referred to as a "sugar pill." In blind studies, it is made to look exactly like the product being tested and is given to the control group so that circumstances of the study can be controlled and evaluated for effectiveness.
an inactive substance used in controlled studies to determine the effectiveness of medications
A placebo is an inactive pill, liquid, or powder that has no treatment value. In clinical trials, experimental treatments are often compared with placebos to assess the treatment's effectiveness. (See Placebo Controlled Study).
A sugar pill often taken by participants in a medical study. Patients taking a placebo are compared to patients taking actual medications.
an inert, inactive substance; a "sugar pill." Experimental therapies are compared to placebo in many clinical trials.
a harmless substance given as medicine, usually to humor a patient.
A Latin word meaning "I will please." Used to describe treatment that has no specific physiological or chemical effect, but that may produce both subjective and objective benefits.
An inactive substance that is clinical trials to determine the efficacy of a medicinal product.
a pharmacologically inactive substance with no medicinal value, used as method for "control" in clinical trials.
An inert or innocuous substance used specially in controlled experiments testing the efficacy of another substance (as a drug).
A dummy medical treatment used mostly for the psychophysiological (deals with physical health processes on the mental state) effects of the treatment.
a substance, such as a sugar pill, that is used in research studies to compare the effects of a specific treatment against no treatment (the placebo).
an inactive substance that may induce some of the effects of the drug for which it has been substituted. (51, 184)
an inert compound usually given to a portion of the subjects in a scientific experiment, in order to distinguish the psychological effects of the experiment from the physiological effects of the drug being tested.
a pill, topical, or injection made to appear exactly like a test medication, but without any of its active ingredients.
Inactive substance that has no treatment value
a pill that resembles the experimental drug, but has no active ingredient and therefore no medical effect on the body or disease.
In clinical trials, an inert substance identical in appearance to the substance being tested.
A test substance that must be virtually identical (look, taste, and smell similar) to the substance being tested.
An inert or inactive substance that is not distinguishable from the active substance. Placebos are often used in clinical trials to compare the effects of a given treatment with no treatment.
An inactive substance with no medicinal effects that sometimes is used in research control groups.
A dosage form that is identical to the drug product except that the drug substance is absent or replaced by an inert ingredient or a mixture of the drug product excipients quantitatively equivalent to those found in the drug product dosage form.
A substance having no pharmacological effect, but given to a patient or a subject of an experiment who supposes it to be medicine.
A fake medicine used for research. It helps to balance results of trials by better establishing whether the genuine medicine is responsible for any improvements of conditions, or whether there are other, as yet unconsidered factors present.
An inactive substance given to a participant in a research study as part of a test of the effects of another substance or treatment. Scientists often compare the effects of active and inactive substances to learn more about how the active substance affects participants.
Inert substance ( eg: sugar pill) used as "therapy" for 1 arm of a randomized trial, most often a double blind trial. Often in a trial to compare two different treatments, patients will be given both a placebo with the appearance of one therapy and an actual dose of the other of the therapies.
sugar pill or false treatment that is given to a control group while the experimental group is given the experimental treatment. Placebo-controlled studies are conducted to make sure that significant outcomes of a trial are due to the experimental treatment rather than another factor associated with participating in the study.
A substance which has no known medicinal properties. It is usually made identical in appearance to an active medicine for use in placebo controlled trials.
A sham treatment or procedure. It is used to reduce bias in clinical studies.
Drug with no active ingredients.
inactive substances used in experimental blinded drug studies.
A medication ("sugar pill") or treatment that has no effect on the body that is often used in experimental studies to determine if the experimental medication/treatment has an effect.
a fake medicine - which has no effect - used in scientific studies as a control
Sugar pill used in comparison to a drug in studies of the safety and effectiveness of a drug.
A substance that has no activity, often used in a clinical study so that participants do no know if they are receiving the active (study drug) or the inactive placebo. This approach assists in performing clinical studies and determining whether a drug is active against a disease.
Fake pill (typically a sugar pill) given to controls in clinical trials to compare its effects with real drug.
An inactive substance administered to a group of patients in a clinical study in order to form a control group against which the results obtained from patients receiving an active substance can be measured.
an inert substance given to patients or subjects in place of medication. Placebos are usually administered in research studies as a control in order to compare and evaluate the effect of the real medication or treatment under study.
Inactive substance or treatment that has no known medical value that nonetheless creates a heath improvement that can be observed, measured or felt-called "the placebo effect"-due to patients expectation of getting well.
A placebo is designed to resemble as much as possible the treatment being studied in a clinical trial, except that the placebo is inactive. An example of a placebo is a pill containing sugar instead of the drug or other substance being studied. By giving one group of participants a placebo and the other group the active treatment, the researchers can compare how the two groups respond and get a truer picture of the active treatment's effects. In recent years, the definition of placebo has been expanded to include other things that could have an effect on the results of health care, such as how a patient and a health care provider interact and what the patient expects to happen from the care.
a dummy medical treatment, designed to have no pharmacological effect, administered to the control group of a clinical trial.
A control substance usually inactive against which experimental drugs are sometimes compared. In placebo-controlled trials, the control group takes the placebo, while the test group takes the experimental drug. Many such studies are also double-blinded (double masked) which means that neither doctors nor patients know who is receiving the experimental drug or the placebo during the study.
an inactive substance used as if it were an effective dose of a medication.
An inactive material in the same form as an active drug, —for example, a sugar pill. See double-blind, placebo-controlled study.
An inactive substance or treatment that has no effect on the body and that ideally looks, smells, and tastes the same as, and is given the same way as, the active drug or treatment being tested. The effects of the active substance or treatment are compared to the effects of the placebo.
A tablet of an inactive substance which looks identical to the pharmaceutical agent. It is administered to a group of volunteers to verify the effects of the drug taken by another group of participants.
medical treatment (operation, therapy, chemical solution, pill, etc.), which is administered as if it were a therapy, but which has no therapeutic value other than the placebo effect.
An inactive substance against which an experimental treatment is compared. A placebo looks, smells and tastes like the treatment being substituted, but has no active agent in it. It is sometimes called a "sugar pill."
(pluh-see-bow) : an inert, inactive substance that may be used in studies (clinical trials) to compare the effects of a given treatement with no treatment. In common speech, a "sugar pill."
A placebo is a treatment that has no physical effect on a person and is usually used in clinical trials to test the effects of new medicines and drugs
an inert or harmless substance used especially in controlled experiments testing the efficacy of another substance (as a drug)
A "sugar pill" or any dummy medication or treatment.
Means "I shall please" in Latin it is a term applied to a remedy that does not affect the "specific mechanisms" of the disease in question, or to the favorable response that the treatment often elicits.
A harmless substance that resembles a medicine; often used to test the effectiveness of medicines.
An inert substance or treatment that holds no medical value or impact. A phenomenon known as 'the placebo effect' takes place when the substance is administered and a measurable result or improvement is observed due to the subject's expectations of therapy.
A substance that has no real therapeutic pharmacological value. They are often given to patients who require a pill for psychological reasons, but mostly as part of clinical trials to test the effectiveness of new drugs.
An inert substance used in place of an active drug; given to the control group in an experimental test.
A placebo is a medicine or preparation which has no inherent pertinent pharmacologic activity but which is effective only by virtue of the factor of suggestion attendant upon its administration. The substance may be ingested, injected, inserted, inhaled or applied.Leslie (1954), p.855.