Placebos
can help patients feel better, even if they are fully aware they are taking a
sugar pill, researchers reported on Wednesday on an unusual experiment aimed to
better understand the "placebo effect."
http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/12/22/us-placebo-idUSTRE6BL4IU20101222
Nearly 60 percent of patients with
irritable bowel syndrome reported they felt better after knowingly taking
placebos twice a day, compared to 35 percent of patients who did not get any
new treatment, they report in the Public Library of Science journal PLoS ONE.
"Not only did we make it
absolutely clear that these pills had no active ingredient and were made from
inert substances, but we actually had 'placebo' printed on the bottle,"
Ted Kaptchuk of Harvard Medical School and Beth
Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, who led the study, said in a
statement.(Read
entire article)
IBS Patients Cite Benefits After
Knowingly Taking Dummy Pill
http://www.webmd.com/ibs/news/20101221/secrecy-may-be-unnecessary-for-placebo-effect
Patients with irritable bowel syndrome felt
better after knowingly taking a placebo, suggesting that the secrecy of giving
patients “dummy pills” may not be necessary, Harvard researchers report.
In a trial involving 80 patients
with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), investigators from Harvard Medical
School’s Osher Research Center and Beth Israel
Deaconess Medical Center in Boston found that the so-called "placebo
effect" may be more than just thinking that you’re taking a real drug.(Read
entire article)