Studies Find Placebo Effect Works In Various Conditions.

On the front of its Personal Journal section, the Wall Street Journal  (1/3, D1, Wang, Subscription Publication) "In The Lab" reports a variety of research studies have shown that giving patients placebo, a sugar pill, seems to show a response in patients with conditions such as depression, fertility, asthma, and irritable bowel syndrome and may even be more effective than the actual treatment. The piece also notes that whether people know that they are receiving placebo or the drug does not seem to make a difference in response either, according to a study. Several studies have shown that a certain mind-set or belief concerning a person's body or health may influence improvements in their disease symptoms, which shows the relationship between mind and body.