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What is Nocebo effect in Medicine

May 25, 2018 12:15 am | Updated 12:15 am IST

This refers to the phenomenon wherein a patient undergoing medical treatment may suffer from negative side effects purely due to her own negative expectations. This is in contrast to the placebo effect where a patient enjoys better health due to positive expectations regarding her treatment. Negative psychological expectations are believed to cause physiological changes in a patient’s body, leading to negative health effects. Scientists have that found that patients who were warned about negative side effects of a certain medicine actually suffered these side effects even though they were only served harmless fake pills.

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