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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
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Posted by coral on June 10, 2004, at 16:57:43
Is there research being done why placebos work? The medical studies consistently show that their product worked X % of the time against a placebo that worked Y % of the time.
To me, what's interesting is that the placebo worked at all. Shouldn't a major study be conducted to find that answer? Of course, pharmaceutical companies might not be intererested in funding it ... lol
I'd love to hear others' thoughts on this.
Coral
Posted by fires on June 10, 2004, at 20:30:44
In reply to Placebo, posted by coral on June 10, 2004, at 16:57:43
My former MD an expert in Pschopharm., who never became a PDoc, but taught courses in it at a major Univ. Med Ctr., told me that the placebo effect is very temporary.
Some are now questioning whether or not the placebo response is indeed real. In a relatively recent study:
"In addition to the two groups receiving a medication or a placebo, there was a third group that received nothing — no medication and no placebo. To the doctors’ surprise, patients in the third group improved as often as those in the placebo group."
If you think that muddies the waters try doing some reading about thew nocebo response!:
Good luck ;), I think rocket science is far less complex than neuroscience and brain chemistry!
Bye
Posted by deirdrehbrt on June 12, 2004, at 20:43:46
In reply to Re: Placebo, posted by fires on June 10, 2004, at 20:30:44
Placebo's, and their effects can be really interesting. A while back, I was taking a course in natural medecine. One of the books I read was Andrew Weil's "Health and Healing".
In this book, he devotes two chapters on the "Placebo effect". He talks about two different kinds of placebo's, ative, and passive. A passive placebo would be something like a sugar pill. The only effect a passive placebo would have is that which your mind believes that the act of taking a pill might bring about.
An active placebo adds a second element to the process. An active placebo is when a placebo also has an effect that the user can feel, such as with vitamin B12. It is believed that the added feeling can increase the placebo effect, though the feeling itself has no direct effect on the condition or effect being examined.
The placebo effect can be quite strong, and in certain cases, more effective than the therapy being investigated. Some practicioners place great faith in placebos. In WW2, when medical supplies were low, some physicians used placebos in place of pain medications, using a patients mind to provide the necessary analgesic. This is perhaps one of the strongest uses of a placebo.
Dr. Weil argues that if the placebo does have some effect, then it should be exploited. If it is used along with typical meicines, it can increase their effect. The patient may experience a more complete cessation of pain, better control of allergies, or many other improvements in their health care.
I hope this helps a little. Some people may disagree with what Dr. Weil has to say, but I found his writing at least interesting. I was unable to find the link to the book in the 'double quote' system here, but it should at least be in a local library.
Dee.
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