by KYW's medical editor Dr. Brian McDonough

It’s another case of people thinking that something is better just because it costs more. People in marketing have known this for years and a recent Duke study has found the concept crosses into health care as well. 

You may have heard the term placebo effect. This is what doctors call the reaction when someone takes a sugar pill and feels better even though there was no medicine involved in the process. The latest version of the placebo effect is down right fascinating.

Researchers tested 82 volunteers.  All got a light electric shock and were offered what they were told was a painkiller.  Then, half were given a brochure describing the pill as a newly approved painkiller that cost $2.50 per dose and half were given a brochure describing it as marked down to 10 cents.  Eighty-five percent of volunteers who thought they were getting a $2.50 pill said they felt less pain after taking it, compared with 61 percent of those who thought they were getting a discounted drug.