Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Treatment - Placebo Response

Placebo Response

It was previously assumed that placebo response rates in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) are unusually high, "at least 30% to 50%", because of the subjective reporting of symptoms and the fluctuating nature of the condition. However, a meta-analysis found that the pooled response rate in the placebo group was 19.6%, lower than the usually reported one third response in other medical conditions. The authors offer possible explanations for this result: CFS is widely understood to be difficult to treat, which could reduce expectations of improvement. In context of evidence showing placebos do not have powerful clinical effects when compared to no treatment, a low rate of spontaneous remission in CFS could contribute to reduced improvement rates in the placebo group. Intervention type also contributed to the heterogeneity of the response, low patient and provider expectations regarding psychological treatment may explain particularly low placebo responses to psychiatric treatments.