In the News – The Placebo Effect Works
Snippet from the article:
There’s little doubt that the placebo effect’s real, but it has always been argued that a person feels better because they think the pill is the real deal. But what if it works even when you know it’s a fake?According to Ted Kaptchuk at Harvard Medical School and his colleagues at least one condition can be calmed by placebo, even when everyone knows it’s just an inert pill. This raises a thorny question: should we start offering sugar pills for ailments without a treatment?
In the latest study, Kaptchuk tested the effect of placebo versus no treatment in 80 people with irritable bowel syndrome. Twice a day, 37 people swallowed an inert pill could not be absorbed by the body. The researchers told participants that it could improve symptoms through the placebo effect.
While 35 per cent of the patients who had not received any treatment reported an improvement, 59 per cent of the placebo group felt better. “The placebo was almost twice as effective as the control,” says Kaptchuk. “That would be a great result if it was seen in a normal clinical trial of a drug.”
Read the full story at Gizmodo — Placebos Can Work Even When You Know They’re Fakes
I am certain that the placebo effect also applies to side effects. If you hear you may get erectile dysfunction from taking a drug, how many people will report the side effect from taking the placebo?
One also wonders if improvement on placebo (albeit to a lesser degree than active drug) is related in part to fluctuations that are a part of the disease. Those conditions (eg interstitial cystitis, painful neuropathies, etc) that show considerable placebo effects in clinical trials are diseases where some fluctuation is part of the natural history of the disease. It is possible, also, that these types of conditions are more susceptible to the influence of placebo on producing “goof fluctuations”
“goof fluctuations” in my comment should have been “good fluctuations” (spelling!)
The Placebo effect is a very interesting idea. But the way I think about it is, if a there is a product that “helps to naturally improve hair loss,” something like Provillus lets say. If the product actually works is irrelevant, I think its completely up to the mindset the person has going before and while using it. If you are confident that that you’re hair will grow back, or at the very least, stop falling out, you already have a better chance to eliminate hair loss. Anyway, if anyone is interested in provillus, I only say this because its a product Ive heard actually “works,” than check out this site. Go placebo effect!!!
provillussideeffects.net