From the category archives:
This article highlights an interesting problem with placebo research — the ingredients in the placebo itself. Note that it mentions a study where heart patients did better with a placebo — the placebo had olive oil in it, which may have been a helpful ingredient. However, I think most people and researchers are missing the [...]
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In 1961, someone made up the term “Nocebo”, taking a clue from the Latin “placebo”, and essentially meaning, “I will harm.” The term became popular in the 90′s, but I haven’t seen it around much these days. I always found it a bit of a strange word, and never used it in a sentence until [...]
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This research suggests that red and pink pills are most effective. Do you suppose the pink Plavix pill pushers took this into account? Note that this research was done in India: the psychological effects of color are different in different cultures. Personally — and fitting in with this research – I prefer red pills. I [...]
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I love the fact that placebos exist and that they are usually as effective as pills. It also tells me that medicine is essentially looking in the wrong place — much more research should be directed at how the placebo effect works, and how to make them even more effective. The Mind/Body is a very [...]
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in the Wikipedia article on the placebo effect it starts out by defining the placebo effect as a “sham”: A placebo… is a sham or simulated medical intervention that can produce a (perceived or actual) improvement, called a placebo effect. Wrong. Very wrong. Very very wrong. Calling the effect a “sham” epitomizes the current emphasis [...]
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The “placebo effect” is essentially a measure of how powerful the mind is in changing the chemistry of the body. It is more powerful than medication, yet we look for pills to cure us… How about we start understanding and using more placebos…
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Boston Globe May 9, 2010 … A recent study by Harvard’s Kaptchuk suggests the importance of ritual and the doctor-patient relationship. A 2008 paper published in the British Medical Journal described experiments conducted on patients with irritable bowel syndrome. Two groups underwent sham acupuncture, while a third remained on a waiting list. The patients receiving [...]
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