Thanks for the big comment!

I will answer your first question in the next post =P

I do believe placebo works even when a person knows its a placebo, there was some fairly recent research on the matter! Can't remember where though... I'll dig it up at some point.

The feeling of relief may again have some psychological effect, and acupuncture can work as a light painkiller of sorts (placebo-wise), but don't expect those pressure points to fix leprosy...