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Placebo

By Daniel More, MD, About.com

Created: April 27, 2009

About.com Health's Disease and Condition content is reviewed by our Medical Review Board

Definition: An inactive treatment which provides no pharmacologic effects for the treatment of a medical condition. Frequently used in medical studies to show that a medication has true benefit over simply getting better from taking something.
Also Known As: Sugar pill
Examples: Generally, it is accepted that by simply taking a placebo, a person has approximately a 30% improvement in his symptoms through the power of suggestion.
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