From the Wall Street Journal — Name Brand Pills, Placebos, and the Power of Suggestion

“Call it the double-placebo effect.

In a provocative 82-patient study, researchers at MIT found that a dummy pill carrying a $2.50 price tag eases pain much more effectively than an identical pill that patients believe costs just 10 cents.

The results may help explain, among other things, why some patients report worsening symptoms when they switch from a brand-name drug to a cheaper generic version of the same medicine, principal investigator Dan Ariely tells the Health Blog.“

The above is a snippet from an article in the Wall Street Journal’s Health Blog about placebos. While the article doesn’t specifically mention any hair loss medications, I think we all know that it definitely applies here. It goes to show the power of suggestion and is quite an interesting read.

Full article: Placebos Might Work Even Better With a Brand Name