The placebo effect is a beneficial health outcome resulting from a person's anticipation that an intervention will help.  Placebo is Latin for  I shall please .  Two related examples are self-fulfilling prophecy and the Pygmalion Effect. The  placebo response rate could be as high as from 35% to 40% , according to the  Journal of American Medical Association .  Medical News Today has reported that this effect could range from  16% to 71.4% , depending on the ailment.   A more caring approach can enhance the effect.  In the case of Parkinson's disease, where 16% showed significant improvements, sometimes lasting for 6 months, the reason was due to dopamine release in the striatum.   The placebo effect is at the interface of biology and psychology.   There is now more information on why acupuncture and reiki do help some people.   Doctors are more and more being taught that if science cannot separate a medicine from a placebo, shouldn't they use this information to some adv