NIH News Advisory
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH
 National Center for Complementary
and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, September 28, 2000

Press Contact:
Anita Greene, NCCAM
(301) 496-7790
ag19d@nih.gov

Save the Date -- November 19-21, 2000

What: Trans-NIH/DHHS Workshop:
The Science of the Placebo: Toward an Interdisciplinary Research Agenda

Co-organized by: National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) and
the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)

Workshop Co-Chairs: Arthur Kleinman and Harry Guess

WHERE: Natcher Conference Center (NIH Campus)
45 Center Drive, Bethesda, Maryland
WHY: For decades, the "placebo response" has been dismissed as an unexplained or imaginary phenomena or last resort for quack doctors who had no real medical treatments to offer their patients. The potential use of placebos for medical benefit and its continued use in clinical trials are recent topics of considerable interest and controversy among the scientific and medical communities.

This workshop was organized to explore the basis for, and potential applications of the "placebo effect." It will bring together researchers from a wide range of disciplines to examine the biological, behavioral, social, cultural, and ethical aspects related to the placebo effect. Perspectives on the necessity for including a placebo in randomized clinical trials will also be examined. The goal of the meeting is to develop recommendations for future research to further elucidating, accounting for, and developing clinical applications of the placebo effect.

Plenary and breakout session topics include:

For periodic conference updates, a detailed conference agenda, and pre-registration, check the website at: http://placebo.nih.gov. NOTE: The registration fee is waived for members of the press who present press credentials.