[Placebo wonder drug. Why it is so effective in pain therapy]

Placebos play an important role as controls in the evaluation of specific treatment techniques and as unspecific therapy. In the last years, a series of studies with controversial statements were published. The placebo response cannot be reduced to a single point. Evidence based factors are instruction of the probands in experimental investigations resp. information of the patients, their expectancy, suggestion, setting, kind of treatment and indication. Acute, recurrent and chronic pain states were in relation to placebo most thoroughly investigated. In this field, placebo is better than no treatment.