Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Placebos Work!
No one knows why, but our bodies seem to heal themselves better when they (we) think they are being healed: the placebo effect, which has long confounded medical scientists and practitioners. But why does it work, and is it all in our head? Apparently not. A new study of a painkiller and placebo trial has found that even just a placebo painkiller increases opioid transmission (natural painkillers) in subjects' brains, actually decreasing their pain.
The ethics of really working with placebos as treatment is dubious, so it's not as well researched as it probably ought to be. So I'm happy when I see work getting done.
The ethics of really working with placebos as treatment is dubious, so it's not as well researched as it probably ought to be. So I'm happy when I see work getting done.
