The placebo effect

[Human No More]

Does anyone else find it fascinating?

The most interesting part is when people can expect something to happen physically, and their body actually performs the expectation , such as the studies where patients are given empty pills and told it's a new drug, and have things happen such as cancers go into remission, or advanced stages of terminal diseases improve.

The other interesting part is mental - when people can think they are creating something of their own, when they are actually creating it to a specification formed from expectation.

[Moco Loco]

Apparently, some people who are familiar with the placebo effect can be given a placebo, told it is a placebo, and still be influenced by the placebo effect.

Read here.

[LOVEavatar]

Some Penn and Teller will illustrate this perfectly!

Now that is some good placebo.

[Theorist]

I remember reading an article in Discover magazine that they used this drug called "Obecalp" (placebo backwards), in a test on children who said they felt sick. The obecalp was just a sugar pill, nothing else, yet it kids who took it feel better than kids who didn't lol.

[Human No More]

That's exactly what it is. It's what causes people to spend large amounts of money on 'medicines' that are only water, or randomly sticking needles into them. They think it can change things, so their body can conform to that expectation. That level of control on the part of the brain, even if not active, shows some real potential.

[apache_blanca]

no matter what are the mechanism behind it I personally think it would be great if all the sicknesses in the world could be cured by placebo - or, by mind powers for this matter! Check this out: I have a flu, you give me a glass of water & tell me this is a perfect anti-flu remedy... I am convinced, I drink it and - poof! - the flu disappears. I wouldn't mind it at all!
(poor pharmaceutic industry though what they gonna do??)

[Human No More]

That won't work. Indeed, the placebo effect can be very dangerous if it stops people from seeking medical treatment because they think someone sticking needles in them is going to help.
It can make a measurable difference, but it's far from complete or found in everyone, and often not enough to actually be considered a treatment in its own, often just reducing symptoms of something.

[apache_blanca]

Originally Posted by Human No More

That won't work. Indeed, the placebo effect can be very dangerous if it stops people from seeking medical treatment because they think someone sticking needles in them is going to help...

well if it does work in a particular case or two - then no need for medical treatment anymore, right? Of course if it's an emergency, a broken limb or a heart attack - little placebo can help, but in some other cases, even if it is a relief, not a complete cure... if it works - why not? At least it deserves some interest.

Added on Oct 7: all said: it would be nice to have some "samples". My "sample" - i.e. my personal experience - says it works (altho not always, & not always 100%). I also only yesterday talked to a dentist who said (quoting) she used to be very skeptical as far as the acupuncture and all this stuff was concerned. But after she tried it & saw it worked she recommends it to her patients - not as a replacement of a proper dental treatment but as an accompanying measure. Facts are facts, whether we like them or no.

Your sample... do you have a sample?

And a bit more: I am beginning to think that it could be a cultural thing. Here where I live every second person knows reiki (a so-called energy therapy that has to do with "the flow of energy within all things"), homeopathy & acupuncture are covered by social security, & any pharmacy has homeopathy and/or Bach's flower remedies; people routinely consult astrologers & Tarot readers to see what attitude to take in a certain situation or what they can learn from it. It's part of my reality, so placebo = mind power that can be used with many purposes, is sort of "normal" & "goes without saying". But I am posting all this cos I realize that not everybody is living in this sort of environment & is seeing the world this way.