In my last column, I wrote about "New Corona Countermeasures Using Placebo".

Later, my junior called and talked a bit about this.

Ebata: "I wrote this story in the context of a" breathtaking" after "severe stories".

Junior: "Mr. Ebata, what are you talking about? That's a serious and essential story about this measure."

Ebata: "Well? Seriously?"

Junior: "If you thought it was a joke, you wouldn't understand my story at all."

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Today, I was searching for a patent all day at work, I happened to find a great patent application.

"Devices, systems, and methods for promoting behavioral change based on mindfulness techniques"

The applicant seems to be a US venture company.

I was astonished that the invention of "placebo mindfulness technique" was described as a way to encourage patients to change their daily behavior.

So, I checked what uses placebo as technology. In fact, one of the cognitive-behavioral therapies was a technique called "placebo administration".

In clinical trials of antidepressants for depression, it has also been confirmed that symptoms are improved to some extent even in the placebo group (containing no active ingredient) (*).

(*)Marchesi C, De Panfilis C, Tonna M, Ossola P (2013). "Is placebo useful in the treatment of major depression in clinical practice?" Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat 9: 915-20. doi:10.2147/NDT.S44519. PMC: 3699255. PMID 23836976.

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I think that there was a reason why he protested too much, indeed.