Placebo in the guise of evidence-based medications

Abstract

Placebo therapy can be beneficial and ethically justifiable; but it is not a sufficient reason to publish biased information. Certain journals are selecting reliable reports but others are publishing biased materials and rejecting criticism. Publication series of questional reliability are sometimes continued without making references to published comments. Theories have been construed for promotion of some drugs and dietary supplements without proven effectiveness. This review is a collection of examples, when substances with unproven effects and unclear action mechanisms are directly or indirectly presented by professional publications as evidence-based medications. Some of the topics might be not completely clarified, so that arguments provided here can induce a constructive discussion.