Placebo and Evidence-Based Medicine
Different aspects of placebo use and placebo effect are highlighted. The number of scientific publications containing the term “placebo” is growing exponentially. In the first instance it is related to the use of placebo for achieving blinding in randomized clinical trials of medicines. The article describes historical aspects of the use of placebo intervention in clinical practice, the role of placebo in the development of clinical trial design, its importance in implementing evidence-based medicine principles. The modern concept of the mechanism of placebo effect is described. The ethical issues related to the use of placebo in experimental studies and clinical practice are also discussed.