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The placebo effect works even if a person knows that he is taking a pacifier

marks, Geektimes

The placebo effect is usually called the phenomenon of improving a person's well-being in the case when this person believes in the effectiveness of the positive effects of a certain drug or procedure on his body. Usually, the degree of manifestation of the placebo effect depends on the suggestibility of a person and various circumstances associated with taking the drug or performing the procedure. Placebo is also called a substance without medicinal properties, which, nevertheless, has a positive effect on the well-being of a person who believes that this substance is a medicine.

Previously, it was believed that the placebo effect manifests itself only if a person does not know that the drug he is taking is a dummy, and not a real medicine. Now there is evidence that a placebo has a positive effect on a person's well-being, even if he knows about the "forgery".

In fact, the proof of this has been obtained at least 6 years ago, and the first author of the article in PLOS ONE was the one mentioned below, T. Kapchuk – VM.

The results of a medical study with this conclusion were recently published in the authoritative medical journal Pain (Carvalho et al., Open-label placebo treatment in chronic low back pain: a randomized controlled trial – VM).

"The results of the study allow us to understand the effect of placebo," says Ted Kaptchuk, one of the authors of the study. He works at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and also teaches medicine at Harvard. "A new study shows that the placebo effect is not always caused by patients' belief that they are taking an effective drug, as previously thought," Kapchuk said in a press release of Study Finds Knowingly Taking Placebo Pills Eases Pain.

Taking a pacifier, which the patient knows is a pacifier, apparently stimulates the areas of the brain that are responsible for the partial formation of a symptomatic picture of a disease.

The results of the work were obtained during a large medical experiment involving 97 patients with chronic lower back pain (lumbago). The main causes of lumbago are overstrain of the lumbar region, lumbar hernias, dislocation of the vertebrae or congenital anomalies of the vertebrae. The causes of severe sudden lumbago, which can occur in a person during a tilt or lifting of gravity, are usually a displacement of the intervertebral disc, or a significant strain of the muscles and ligaments of the back.

The volunteers were checked by doctors, confirming the earlier diagnosis. After that, the participants of the experiment were told about the placebo. The lecture took about 15 minutes. After that, the group was divided into two parts. The first received traditional treatment, and the second received similar treatment and placebo.

The overwhelming number of volunteers, about 85%, had already taken various medications before participating in the project. In most cases, such medication was anti-inflammatory drugs that did not contain steroids. Those patients who were treated with opioid drugs were not allowed to experiment.

Both groups of subjects took new medications and tried to maintain their previous lifestyle, including physical activity, rest, and medications used. The doses of medications did not change, the medications themselves also remained the same, the participants of the experiment were asked not to change them.

The most interesting thing is that the participants of the "placebo group" received vials with a known placebo. They were warned about this immediately, plus on the bottle itself it was written "placebo pills". It was also indicated on the bottle that the tablets consist of crystalline cellulose, which has practically no effect on the human body. The volunteers took these pills twice a day.

The duration of the experiment was three weeks. After that, the participants of the first and second groups were interviewed, asking how people's well-being had changed. 30% of the participants of the "placebo group" reported an improvement in well-being. This concerned both the pain they experienced constantly and the maximum level of pain. In the group that took this drug, 9% of participants reported a decrease in the level of chronic pain, while 16% of participants reported a decrease in the maximum level of pain.

"This is an effect that turns out to be the very process of treatment: communication with a doctor or nurse, taking pills, daily rituals and symbols of our healthcare system. The body reacts to this," says Kapchuk.

"We have proven that the placebo effect works without cheating," says another member of the research group. "Patients are interested in what will happen next, and they begin to dig into their feelings. Their well-being is improving."

According to the authors of the project, the placebo effect can work in cases of some chronic diseases, depression and neurosis. But a placebo will never be able to reduce, for example, a cancerous tumor in size or cure a disease of the cardiovascular system. "It's not a panacea, but most people feel better. Our research shows that placebo should not be underestimated. Perhaps a placebo is necessary for medicine," Kapchuk said.

The authors of the project believe that without trust in their doctor or the healthcare system as a whole, a placebo will not work.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru  19.10.2016