Placebo or not placebo? That is the question.

I would not consider myself to be a scientist, although that may well just be me being humble... it doesn't really matter because I'm going to tell you what I think either way!  I do read the occasional research study and talk to people involved in running said studies - there is always this notion that what you are seeing is a placebo effect.  You may or may not know that studies are usually "blinded" so that nobody knows who is getting the real treatment and who is not.  I'll back up a little further - a "placebo effect" is when somebody thinks they are improving because the drug is working - only they aren't on the drug.  They've convinced themselves that it works and feel better as a result.

My question to you is: is this such a bad thing?  Yes, we want accurate data so that when a truly remarkable treatment comes around, we know and can believe it, but does it matter why someone, particularly someone with a progressive disease, feels better so long as they feel better?  My point is that there is so much CYA going on in the area of clinical trials, much of it for good reason, that we tend not to recognize something as a benefit if we don't have the data to back it up.  I've said it before and I'll say it again, every little thing you can do to bring yourself closer to that feel-better threshold brings the next one that much closer.  Baby steps, people, baby steps.