If you’ve been watching the AMC series “Better Call Saul” then you know that Chuck McGill — the older brother of protagonist Jimmy McGill — suffers from a mysterious, and little-understood collection of symptoms described as electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS). EHS sufferers report symptoms ranging from headaches to rashes to burning sensations when they are exposed to electromagnetic fields, such as those associated with cell phones.
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For years, the placebo effect was the bane of clinical trials. The most revolutionary therapies have to prove themselves to be more efficacious than a placebo, an inert substance or procedure. Often a sugar pill. But what if that spoonful of sugar is the medicine? For the past few years, researchers have been investigating the up side of the placebo effect. Among their questions: can placebos be valid therapies for real illnesses? Could it change the way that subjects are selected to participate in clinical trials? If placebos work, is it ethical to administer them to patients expecting an acutal drug? And finally, are people genetically predisposed to responding to placebos?
Tags: placebo effect