Increased interest in Placebos
 

http://www.wired.com/medtech/drugs/magazine/17-09/ff_placebo_effect?currentPage=1

Far too long to reprint here. Article discusses the fact that placebo reactions in drug trials have doubled over 20 years, while the drug reactions have dropped. Discusses some actual physiological reasons for the placebo effect, brings up some interesting limitations to it, and argues if the testing is increasingly flawed, creating an increased placebo response, or if it's real.

This was very well written, especially for Wired. Both sides of each arguement seem to be given equal credence.

they work only if you think they do...

I really need to get new glasses... I could have sworn this said, "Increased interest in Playboys!"

Funny, I read that last night, then this morning gave the mag to a friend at work who suffers from IBS ;-)

Apparently, in some testing, groups that were simply promised treatment (but had received none yet, just a promise, that's even worse than a sugar pill) scored better than groups that got real medicine... Just an example, I don't meant to jest at my friend's problem.... Also people who got a placebo and had a friendly doctor who listened and told them "they'd be OK" scored better than people who got the real medicine... Amazing !

Anyway, very interesting article, seems like for some diseases, the brain has a great capacity to trigger our body's self-healing. Which would kinda suggest we're pretty good at making ourselves sick too !

That said, I would not trade a sugar pill for a course of antibiotics, though ;-) But a good read !!