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= Placebo studies and their effects =

The use of placebo studies and their effects are on the rise. That means safer, more productive case studies as well as trials. Alongside major depressive disorder (MDD), these placebo experiments have been noted in studies of migraines, irritable bowl syndrome, and even Parkinson's disease. Forms of the placebo drug include "sugar pills", vehicle infusions, and sham surgery.

Background
As the medical background has changed for placebo drugs, so has the definition. Ultimately, the false effects of the substance are believed to be true by one's expectations. The complex process of the placebo studies method is growing at a steady rate in the field of mental illness. The process demands neurobiological mechanisms containing neurotransmitters, to rapidly propel creating the patients desired effect. The clinical placebo trials are found to be a safer alternative to other means of testing. A treatment cannot be proven effective unless it has been properly conducted and investigated.

Double-blind
A double-blind placebo is called so when neither the researcher nor the patients know who was given which form of treatment. This is the most used form of the placebo methods. It differs from a single placebo in that the researchers actually know what patients are given which form of therapy. The need in this kind of study is to cancel out the power of suggestion.

Controlled studies
Although the double-blind placebo method is the most common, controlled placebo expierements require a different understanding. A placebo is given to one group of patients, while the treatment being tested is given to another group. Thus, the control is in the hands of people conducting the expierements. If a trial is considered single-blind, it might include a third party to evaluate patients without knowing if they received the correct or false treatment.

Initial clinical experiments
A study supported partly by a grant from the National Alliance for Research in Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD), tested the omega 3 fatty acid intake in patients who suffered from Bipolar and other mental disorders. The study found that with over 30 patients tested, the patients that were higher in the fatty acids intake, responded at a higher level than those to whom the placebo medication were given. In 1957, a team led by Wolf at Cornell University Medical School conducted an experiment to determine the reliability of the placebo response within the placebo study. The conclusion produced the answer to be the likelihood of predicting placebo responses was not enhanced by increasing the number of placebo tests performed on any individual.