Don't really know what you mean by that. This was first published in
today's edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association. There
have been a zillion placebo studies out there, this is the first one that I'm
aware of that has compared a 'cheap' placebo with an 'expensive' one.
That's how they sell snake oil in both the allopathic and alternative worlds -
on price.
Story at: http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2008/03/03/daily28.html?jst=b_ln_hl
"Findings from the study appear as a letter in the March 5 edition of
the Journal of the American Medical Association. The research was funded by MIT."