"...The idea that something doesn't work for all doesn't mean it doesn't work."

The idea that something appears to work (or even does work) for a a few does not mean that "it" works. People get better on sugar pills. Scientists are trying to understand the placebo effect and make use of it. There is at least one study showing that placebo effect may even work when the patient KNOWS they are taking a placebo.

Lay article on it: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-22...tudy-finds.html

Actual study: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0015591#top

One reason why we have studies - to see if an effect produced by a drug is different than the effect produced by a sugar pill - for better or worse. It's also true that many drugs have harmful side-effects and the scientists also try to study those and will usually have a list of contraindications listed for the drugs. Contraindications are conditions under which one should not take a drug. For example, some people should not take some vaccines.
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/recs/vac-admin/contraindications-vacc.htm

The brain is important - scientists know this. Whether it is the "key" is ambiguous. But scientist are trying to figure ways to trick the brain.
http://www.gq.com/news-politics/newsmake...?printable=true

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc071927
(Yea, the "House" episode was based on real science)

OTOH, actually STUDYING something (applying science to it) is not the same as spewing stupid crap about it and pretending to do "research."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8XYUixuw8g