I was going through some of our older posts ... figured our blog is a more educational way to procrastinate than Facebook ... and reread the posts about placebos. Recently, I read this absolutely outrageous article that took the placebo effect a step further. A few scientist wanted to see if patients' conditions improved, i.e. had the placebo effect, even if they were told they were taking pills with no active ingredient. Basically, the scientist gave one group of patients placebos and told them they were taking fake pills. The other group received no treatment.
Surprisingly enough, some patients showed improvements even when told about the fake pills, and did much better than the no treatment patients. A caveat: The study is quite small. That said it still provides a great "proof-of-concept" and is definitely worth further investigation.
The article that gives new meaning to mind over matter:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/dec/22/placebo-effect-patients-sham-drug
-Vinoo
I am not quite sure what to think of this experiment. The placebo affect is interesting in that it deals with the power of mind and our expectations. In other words do our state of minds, emotions, or expectations play a role in our ability to heal. If you tell a person they are going to be receiving a placebo, and they are not undergoing any other treatment, they know it is unlikely that their symptoms will change. In all honesty I'm not sure what this experiment tested. I don't believe they can correlate there findings to any thing involved with the placebo affect, since this study undermines the placebo affect. In any group of patients there is a possibility for some to improve without medicine. And what was the studies definition of improvement? Was it based on how the patients felt? If so this is subjective.
ReplyDeleteThe article states "placebo may work even if patients know it is a placebo". I find this statement incredibly frustrating and somewhat silly at the same time. Im glad you found this outrageous as well.
And in regards to whether or not medical rituals can lead to health improvement, I think these researchers are going to have a hard time finding a legitimate way to test this. There are too many other variables.
-Brianna Cosentino
Brianna,
ReplyDeleteI agree with pretty much all you said. This study needs to be refined before anything concrete can be taken from it. That said, if I were to hazard a guess as to how this phenomenon could work, I'd guess it has something to do with the expectations of the patient. As the general public is aware of how researchers don't always tell the patients the whole truth to hide any bias, it is possible that the patients who improved psyched themselves out. I mean they could've assumed the doctors told them they received the placebo whereas in reality they were on real medication. If this is the case, this would just be another exam of the placebo effect and perhaps re-enforces the power of the mind on the body.
I know it seems a bit far-fetched but I think it's well within the realm of possibility.
-Vinoo
I read the article and completely agree. I found it interesting that patients did experience some improvment even after they were informed that they were taking a fake pill;however,I am a firm believer that the experctations of the patient play a critical role in disease progression and recovery. I saw an example of this the other day when a women at a coffee shop was talking to another women about her allergies. The women informed her friend that she had been consuming large quantities of pure honey to cure herallergies...apparently shes been doing this since March and has seen such an improvement she is going to continue the regimen. I haven't found much research on the healing power of honey but I guess to each his own.
ReplyDeleteThis study reminds me of that fad of the "Power Bands." Power bands are essentially pieces of rubber with holographic chips in them that have wondrous abilities like correcting your energy flow. I know many educated (some in science) people that use them and are fully aware that there isn't any hard evidence of its affects, yet they still swear by them. To each their own because despite them being aware its a placebo, it still helps them regardless.
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