INTERVIEW
Sometimes, in medicine, the body and the spirit meet and both work for healing. For many years, scientists have been studying the mysteries of the famous "placebo effect", this healing phenomenon without a drug containing an active ingredient. This is the case of Dr Michel Raymond, director of research at the CNRS and author of the book The Power to Heal . Invited Monday of Without appointment , on Europe 1, he delivered some explanations to the listeners of Europe 1.
What is the placebo effect?
Derived from the Latin "placebo", which means "I will please", a placebo is "a drug which has no therapeutic property in itself", while the placebo effect is "the therapeutic effect which it has drug, while chemically it is inert ", explains Michel Raymond.
The importance of the doctor's role
It is especially the attitude of the doctor prescribing the drug that influences the strength of this placebo effect, assures Michel Raymond. "The more empathetic and outgoing he is, the more time he spends with the patient, the greater the placebo effect." The role of the doctor is even more important for children, "because the adult is an impressive person", adds the member of the CNRS, who specifies that "the studies show that the placebo effect decreases as the child is growing up. "
>> Find the whole of Sans rendez-vous in replay and podcast here
In addition, explains Michel Raymond again, the placebo effect is often greater when one is treated by a woman, because "in general, women doctors are more empathetic, and that has consequences on the cure". And to continue: "A study in the United States showed that it led to a decrease in mortality, and that when people were looked after by men rather than by women, it made an excess mortality of 0.42%".
Other factors can modify this placebo effect, such as the price of the drug (the more expensive it is, the greater the placebo effect), or the labeling of the product. "We interpret that a high price has a better effect, because a more expensive medicine is something more precious, more important," says the guest from Europe 1. But he insists, "the real effect goes through the importance that the doctor attaches to his patient. "
What about homeopathy?
For Michel Raymond, the importance of the doctor is particularly illustrated by homeopathic treatments, which have become emblematic examples of the placebo effect. "We know that they have no effectiveness, since they have no active molecule. But the homeopathic doctor spends a lot of time with his patient, an hour on average, against less than a quarter of an hour for a traditional doctor ", he assures," and this creates a much stronger placebo effect ".