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The Placebo Effect Doesn’t Apply Just to Pills

nytimes.com

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Re: The Placebo Effect Doesn’t Apply Just to Pills

#21

Post by DanBC »

matkam wrote: post #2

Any idea how placebos work so well, what they are, and if we're doing anything to take advantage of the effect?

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD003974...

> We did not find that placebo interventions have important clinical effects in general. However, in certain settings placebo interventions can influence patient-reported outcomes, especially pain and nausea, though it is difficult to distinguish patient-reported effects of placebo from biased reporting. The effect on pain varied, even among trials with low risk of bias, from negligible to clinically important. Variations in the effect of placebo were partly explained by variations in how trials were conducted and how patients were informed.

Re: The Placebo Effect Doesn’t Apply Just to Pills

#22

Post by snowwrestler »

matkam wrote: post #2

Any idea how placebos work so well, what they are, and if we're doing anything to take advantage of the effect?

Jokes about homeopathy aside, if you can answer your own question, there's probably a Nobel prize in it for you. Mind/body interactions are incredibly complex and as yet pretty poorly understood.

There are some known ways to take advantage of similar effects--for instance, helping patients find ways to lower stress as a means of mitigating risk factors like high blood pressure.

Re: The Placebo Effect Doesn’t Apply Just to Pills

#23

Post by DigitalJack »

skinnybatch wrote: post #15
kazinator wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. For instance, the person with $300 speaker cables feels good about how they sound and that puts them into a good mood. This is a physical benefit.

I'd argue this is a psychological benefit...

So you think there is nothing physical about mood? Interesting.

Re: The Placebo Effect Doesn’t Apply Just to Pills

#24

Post by kazinator »

skinnybatch wrote: post #15
kazinator wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. For instance, the person with $300 speaker cables feels good about how they sound and that puts them into a good mood. This is a physical benefit.

I'd argue this is a psychological benefit...

Psychological is physical. For instance we can measure things like dopamine levels in the brain related to mood. Psychological outlook is relevant to physical well-being.

Re: The Placebo Effect Doesn’t Apply Just to Pills

#26

Post by harvestmoon »

Alex3917 wrote: post #6

> For a drug to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration, it must prove itself better than a placebo, or fake drug. False, the FDA doesn't actually have any requirement to prove that a treatment is better than placebo. Many trials don't even include a placebo arm, they only compare themselves against existing drugs that were grandfathered into the system without any efficacy testing. Or they compare themselves…

While there is a good amount of controversy around the efficacy of antidepressants, first-line ADHD medications (the stimulants) work in roughly 70% of cases, which is much superior to placebo. For those with ADHD, treatment can make a large quality of life improvement.

Source - memory from having written a book on adult ADHD

Re: The Placebo Effect Doesn’t Apply Just to Pills

#29

Post by Alex3917 »

harvestmoon wrote: post #26
Alex3917 wrote: post #6

> For a drug to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration, it must prove itself better than a placebo, or fake drug. False, the FDA doesn't actually have any requirement to prove that a treatment is better than placebo. Many trials don't even include a placebo arm, they only compare themselves against existing drugs that were grandfathered into the system without any efficacy testing. Or they compare themselves…

While there is a good amount of controversy around the efficacy of antidepressants, first-line ADHD medications (the stimulants) work in roughly 70% of cases, which is much superior to placebo. For those with ADHD, treatment can make a large quality of life improvement. Source - memory from having written a book on adult ADHD

> first-line ADHD medications (the stimulants) work in roughly 70% of cases

What do you mean by 'work'? The research cited by Anatomy of an Epidemic shows that there is no affect on grades or other academic outcomes. And that while concentration itself improves somewhat in the short term, after 2+ years it is worse than if the person were never given the drugs to begin with. See also:

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB1000142412788732336870...

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