(Washington Post via MSN) – The “placebo effect” is a phenomenon that occurs when a person’s physical or mental health improves after taking what is essentially a sham treatment with no clear therapeutic benefits.

“The placebo effect is not magic, but real,” according to a growing body of research in recent years, says Luana Colloca, director of the Placebo Beyond Opinions Center at the University of Maryland’s school of nursing in Baltimore. “Years ago this sounded futuristic. Now it is part of science.”

Historically, the placebo effect typically was seen in the context of deception — patients didn’t know they were receiving an inert substance but still got better because they believed that they would. (Read More)