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order to keep the theory consistent, the placebo effect is regarded as random error or noise which can be ignored."” One of the most perceptive placebo researchers was Stewart Wolf, "the father of psychosomatic medicine", who as early as 1949 had given it a thorough description. Wolf not only defended the placebo as a non-fictional and very "real" phenomenon but also described the placebo's pharmacomimetic behaviour. He was perhaps the first researcher to correlate the placebo effect not only with psychology and predisposition but also with perception. More than half a century ago, he stated that "the mechanisms of the body are capable of reacting not only to direct physical and chemical stimulation but also to symbolic stimuli, words and events which have somehow acquired special meaning for the individual" .* In this context, a pill is not merely an active substance but also a therapeutic symbol and thus the organism is able to respond not only to its chemical content but also to its symbolic content. Likewise a bacillus, beyond its physical properties, acquires symbolic properties that can cause an organism's reaction even in the absence of the bacillus. The presence and extent of the nocebo effect should also be studied in regard to drug resistance. Perhaps drug resistance is a multifactorial phenomenon involving not only microbial evolutionary aptness but also human psyche mechanics. Placebo and nocebo phenomena might prove fundamental not only on the personal level but also in the public health arena. They might even provide the foundation stone for a new model of health, a new medicine that was envisioned by Wolf in the 1950s: "...in the future, drugs will be assessed not only with reference to their pharmacologic action but also to the other forces at play and to the circumstances surrounding their administration".” Five centuries ago, Swiss alchemist and physician Paracelsus (1493-1541) wrote: "You must know that the will is a powerful adjuvant of medicine." It seems that our scientific arrogance has blinded us to the teachings of the past. oo About the Author: Peter Arguriou was born in Greece in the summer of 1973. He studied medicine at the University of Athens Medical School, but left disappointed by the mechanistic perceptions governing medicine. Later, he briefly studied classical homoeopathy at the Aegean University under Alternative Nobel Prize winner George Vithoulkas. He writes for the Greek press and is the author of eight books (fiction, science fiction, poetry—most of them still unpublished). He is a member of the Hellenic MENSA and currently is working on a book regarding novel epidemics, bad science, the gene promise, the media travesty in coverage of science news, orchestrated propaganda and the corruption of the scientific establishment by big business and political agendas. He can be contacted by email at petrosarguriou@hotmail.com. References 159(17):1602-6. 1. Rosenweig P, Brohier S, Zipfel A, "The placebo effect in healthy 13. Kirsch, Irving and Sapirstein, Guy, "Listening to Prozac but hearing volunteers: influence of the experimental conditions on the adverse placebo: A meta-analysis of antidepressant medication", Prevention & events profile during phase I studies", Clin Pharmacol Ther 1993; Treatment 1998 Jun; 1(1). 54:578-83. 14. Hrébjartsson A, Ggtzsche PC, "Is the Placebo Powerless? An 2. 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"Placebo effect shocks allergy drugs maker", BBC News, July 5, : 4 : 5 . 1999, ey ‘ngzttee pain eit Lek re erat 20 21. Talbot, Margaret, "The Placebo Prescription", The New York Times, " . 3 January 9, 2000. ob ESTES WeamillateyiteG, "he Ca TAPES \vallte eiDiayys Use iin 22. Harrington, Anne (ed.), The Placebo Effect: An Interdisciplinary the Continuous Treatment of Angina Pectoris", Quarterly Journal of . aaa 5 on . Exploration, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1997. Medicine 1933 Jul; 2(7). " : : " : : 23. Hahn RA, "The Nocebo Phenomenon: The Concept, Evidence, and 10. Gold H, Kwit NT, Otto H, "The xanthines (Theobromine and oe . ” . - ° . ane : oy . Implications for Public Health", Preventive Medicine 1997 Sep-Oct; Aminophylline) in the treatment of cardiac pain", JAMA 1937 Jun 26; 26(5):607-11; 10826):2173579: Spiegel H. "Nocebo: The Power of Suggestibility", Preventive 11. 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