Potent Nocebo: The more expensive a harmless cream, the more pain it inflicts

Enlarge / Ow. (credit: Getty Images | Media for Medical) The mind is a powerful medicine. Given an ineffective treatment, patients can experience real health improvements by simply believing that the treatment works—the placebo effect. But this blissful delusion has a dark side: when a harmless placebo becomes effective, it becomes harmful, too, causing side-effects […]