...The `Placebo Effect' was defined by Wolf as "any effect attributable to a pill, potion or procedure but not to it's pharmacodynamic or specific properties" (Wolf, 1959. Cited by H.Brody, 1980). To date, the placebo has played a dynamic role throughout the history and development of medicine. Substances with no perceivable pharmacological benefit such as spiders, crocodile dung and human excrement have been prescribed up until the beginning of modern scientific medicine to treat various maladies. Obviously each of these substances induced a `Placebo Effect' in order to achieve the desired result as the treatment itself had no real medical value. However, as the medical sciences developed further, the incredible power of the placebo effect was anything but discredited - the power of the human mind in it's self-healing was deemed by clinicians as `voluminous'. It is quite profound, for instance, how a patient will commonly react much better when they are administered with a placebogenic injection as opposed to a lesser response from a tablet or capsule. This infers that the reaction received will vary in proportion to how potent the patient feels their treatment really is; obviously with the injection seeming to be the most potent agent. It is in conjunction with these hypotheses that the therapeutic sciences such as psychotherapy are formulated. It is also through the application of various forms of these `insight therapies' (communication therapy) that the use...
Words: 1732 - Pages: 7
...The Placebo Effect Theodis Holmes Liberty University Abstract The placebo effect is an amazing phenomena that presents the mind with the idea that we can heal ourselves or make ourselves sick by just using our thoughts. From a psychological point of view, a person is given medication that effects the prefrontal cortex with the periaqueductal gray matter that modulates the transmission of pain information to the brain. The placebo effect allows a person to believe that something fake could become real, because of someone’s perspective of it. The placebo effect works on the neurochemistry in the brain sending pain relievers to parts of the body where the pain was, by acting as the actual pain reliever. In light of the placebo effect, it’s not what you go through that matters, it’s how you feel about it. This paper will explain the history of the placebo effect from a biblical Christian worldview, the positives and the negatives of the placebo effect, while explaining why the placebo effect is so effective. While researching for this paper, I recalled a conversation that I had with my mother a few years back; it was disclosed to me that in 1962, my grandfather was in the hospital with cancer. My mother, sister, and I were discussion the effectiveness of doctors and the generic medication that gets prescribed to certain patients who can’t afford the expensive ones. My father died three years ago from prostate cancer, two weeks after having surgery. Before the surgery...
Words: 2503 - Pages: 11
...The Placebo Effect Placebo- the word usually implies deception and medical trickery to make you feel cured, but can the Placebo Effect actually be a medical cure? Memory pills, fake surgeries, and “Home Remedies” may all become a true type of medicine. When a person takes Prevagen, they expect to have an improved memory and better thought processes, as seen in the advertisement. However, Prevagen, scientifically, cannot work. This is because of the way the pill works. Prevagen works by circulating in the bloodstream, but to reach the brain it would have to pass a sort of filter, used to protect the brain in the event that something foreign enters the bloodstream. However, Prevagen still improves memory. The effect is not caused by the medicine...
Words: 360 - Pages: 2
...The placebo effect is most commonly used with medical research such as with types of sicknesses but is less commonly used in other ways as well. Typically when a patient or subject is given a placebo they report back with positive results, showing the placebo was effective. When given a placebo, the subconscious mind uses what is told will happen so it can achieve the expected result that is to occur. (Derren Brown – The Placebo Effect) When a patient is given a placebo it can either cause a positive or a negative effect on that specific patient, the results can widely vary based on the condition of the patient when they are given the placebo or even the time when the patient is given the placebo. One of the most common theories, if not the...
Words: 1200 - Pages: 5
...that how placebos are administered plays a very important role in their ability to cause physiological changes in the body. A trained acupuncturist, Kaptchuck has tested the treatment's ability to work as a placebo by offering his patients qualitatively different treatments. In other words, patients who receive more care and "schmaltz" from their medical professional tend to receive the greatest benefit from sham treatments. Kaptchuk wonders to what extend, if at all, Western medicine can take advantage of the placebo effect to improve treatment. Whats the big idea? For decades, the medical establishment has treated all placebo effects equally but Kaptchuk's studies show the importance of how fake treatments are administered. What has become most clear is that, despite the emphasis Western medicine places on material and chemical changes, medicine is a ritualistic event. Beyond the science of pharmaceuticals is the science of care, a role which encompasses how pills affect our physiology. Critics argue that were placebos to be encouraged in the practice of medicine, patients could delay other treatments with longer- lasting benefits. Similar to the placebo effect, in which a fake medication can give patients the benefits of having taken the real drug, the nocebo effect is the little-studied fact that patients taking a fake drug can also experience real negative side effects. "In one remarkable case, a participant in an antidepressant drug trial was given placebo tablets—and...
Words: 518 - Pages: 3
...Placebos and Nocebos With and Without Deception and their Effect on Cognitive Performance NAME University of Sydney Abstract Past research has produced conflicting conclusions about the effectiveness placebos with and without deception. It has been argued that, although placebos sometimes appear to be more effective with deceptive administration, it is not an ethical way to carry out research or provide treatment. This study aimed to determine whether a significant placebo effect could be achieved through deceptive as well as open administration. Cognitive performance was measured and results were collected for both positive and negative outcomes. The 512 participants were given different instructions and suggestions about the placebo (or nocebo) and then asked to sniff an odour while completing a visual search task. Results indicated that both placebos and nocebos require deception to have a significant effect. Groups with open administration did not show significant effects. It was also shown that odour did not have an effect on performance. Further research is needed to investigate different ways to introduce a placebo to patients, for example, alternative wording in instructions and suggestions. Placebos and Nocebos With and Without Deception and their Effect on Cognitive Performance Many researchers have been interested in determining the most effective and ethical way to administer a placebo. The placebo...
Words: 836 - Pages: 4
...Health care providers may use placebos intentionally or unintentionally. When used intentionally, as in giving a sugar pill for pain or prescribing oral vitamins for fatigue, an element of deception is involved. The doctor does not believe the treatment is effective for the condition but believes it will be helpful for the patient because of the patient’s belief in the doctor’s prescription. This is an ethically compromised position regardless of the possible benefit to be derived and usually is not considered acceptable practice. Unintentionally, providers often create placebo responses just by their enthusiastic endorsement of and belief in a treatment. In this case, there is no deception, as the provider genuinely believes in the treatment...
Words: 1048 - Pages: 5
...As much as people dispute, the placebo isn’t a replacement for medicine. It is still a lookalike false treatment even if it can produce the same results as actual medicine. Moreover, what is called a ‘placebo effect’ may have an explanation, one that certainly isn’t real treatment. Like any other power, the placebo effect also has its limits, as well as its possible reverse effect. Steven Novella (2010), an assistant professor of neurology in Yale University, describes the placebo effect as the result of the circumstances of the disease, bias, physiological effects, or the desire for success (Placebo Effects, para. 1-4). The circumstances of the condition are completely independent from human interference or bias. Some diseases exist in phases. These phases can be described as the high and low points of discomfort. What is sometimes considered a placebo effect is just the condition entering its milder phase. It isn’t even a cure; it’s only chance. The other three classifications all involve human interference. All three of them can vary in...
Words: 867 - Pages: 4
...productive protocol. I would instruct my staff to deliver truthful information to patients during transportation to the trauma unit. However, I would also advise that the information during this critical time, to be focused on positive points. I believe this to be the most effective approach because of two primary reasons: first, studies using placebos have shown the substantial effect that a person's emotions can have on their physical health. Thereby, keeping a patient's hopes alive could be essential to their rescue. Secondly, the patient is not in a position to make productive decisions based on many details of their condition at this point; so to give what could be an overwhelming amount of information could be confusing or based on research, potentially harmful. First I’ll address the reason why keeping a patient’s hopes up is so important. Since the publication of Henry Beecher’s The Powerful Placebo in 1955, which brought the idea of this phenomenon to public attention, there have been many experiments conducted to test the placebo effect. A good deal of these experiments involved the consumption of alcohol and the effect it can have on our bodies. A specific example of such an experiment would be one conducted by Seema Assefi and Maryanne Garry, two psychologists from Victoria University in New Zealand. They split 148 students into two groups and told one group that they were being served vodka and tonic while telling the other that they were being served just...
Words: 998 - Pages: 4
...The idea of the placebo effect has been around for centuries. Placebos were originally used to please patients when a successful treatment wasn’t available. It was never thought that a placebo might actually improve the health of a patient or cure them in any way (Kerr). Many experiments have been conducted to determine how successful placebos are capable of being. As placebo studies become more efficient and more data is collected, doctors have begun to prescribe placebos more frequently. People have started to understand the positive effects placebos are capable of having; therefore, in order to benefit the maximum number of people, placebos should be prescribed in hospitals through doctors. Placebos should be prescribed by doctors because they are an inexpensive way to improve the health of the patients physically and mentally. There are many reasons that prescribed placebos are beneficial. One reason is that they are an inexpensive way to get treatment. For some people,...
Words: 1448 - Pages: 6
...phobia is a type of anxiety disorder, usually defined as a persistent fear of an object or situation in which the sufferer commits to great lengths in avoiding, typically disproportional to the actual danger posed, often being recognized as irrational. In the event the phobia cannot be avoided entirely, the sufferer will endure the situation or object with marked distress and significant interference in social or occupational activities. Symptoms involve an irrational, persistent fear of a specific object or situation that's out of proportion to the actual risk. This includes a fear of situations (such as airplanes or enclosed spaces); nature (such as thunderstorms or heights); animals or insects (such as dogs or spiders); blood, injection or injury (such as knives or medical procedures); or other phobias (such as loud noises or clowns). There are many other types of specific phobias. It's not unusual to experience phobias about more than one object or situation. It’s only natural to want to avoid the thing or situation you fear. But when it comes to conquering phobias, facing your fears is the key. While avoidance may make you feel better in the short-term, it prevents you from learning that your phobia may not be as frightening or overwhelming as you think. You never get the chance to learn how to cope with your fears and experience control over the situation. As a result, the phobia becomes increasingly scarier and more daunting in your mind. Exposure: Gradually and...
Words: 1529 - Pages: 7
...Garrett Lundry AS 101 Homeopathy Homeopathy is an alternative form of medicine which involves treating individuals with “natural” substances at an attempt to trigger the body’s natural method of healing. There are three basic principles of Homeopathy. First, Homeopaths believe in the idea that you can treat “like with like.” Homeopathy contends that substances that produce symptoms in healthy people can cure those symptoms in sick people. The second is the principle of minimum dose which says that extreme dilution enhances the curative properties of a substance, while eliminating any possible side effects. Homeopathic remedies are prepared by highly diluting the substance in water or alcohol, often until none of the original substance remains. Last is the idea that when prescribing a remedy a doctor must study the person as whole. Basically your emotional characteristics and personality might match you with a different treatment then someone is exhibiting identical symptoms. This means there could be countless possible remedies for each person. (ICBS, Inc) The idea of Homeopathy has been around for around 200 years and the supporting evidence is continued to be tested and analyzed. The theory that you can treat “like with like”, or Law of Similars, was developed by Samueal Hahnemann, the founder of Homeopathy. Hahnemann based this idea off of his study of cinchona bark, which is used to treat malaria. Upon ingesting the substance he experienced symptoms...
Words: 900 - Pages: 4
...A Placebo is defined as any medication or procedure that the physician believes has no specific pharmacological activity against the condition being treated. A Placebo just looks like a regular treatment or medicine, but it’s not. The person getting a placebo does not know for sure that the treatment is not real. A placebo often take the form of sugar pills, saline injections, miniscule doses of drugs, or sham procedures designed to be void of any known therapeutic value. They may be used in clinical practice to determine a diagnosis or appropriate treatment in the face of clinical uncertainty. The use of placebo in clinical practice has received much more attention since past few years. A national Survey of primary care practitioners has found that nearly all doctors have given their patients placebos. The study shows placebo use is widespread in the UK, and doctors clearly believe placebos can help patients. Researchers say 97 percent admitted giving ‘impure’ placebos, those which have medical value but are unproven in the illness they are given for. Meanwhile, 12 percent had used ‘pure’ placebos, such as sugar pills. Of the doctors surveyed, 66 percent said pure placebos were ethically acceptable in certain circumstances, while 33 percent said they were never acceptable. Impure placebos were considered acceptable by 84 percent of doctors. More than 90 percent objected to using either type if it endangered patient-doctor trust, but nearly 20 percent said they might use placebos...
Words: 620 - Pages: 3
...Running Head: Placebos Paris Barnett Placebos Ethical vs. Unethical Dr. Boehm April 21, 2014 Introduction The placebo drug, commonly known as the “sugar pill”, is a drug used by many physicians and doctors to test their patients on mind-control and their behavior to a trial or experiment. Patients however, do not know they are given the placebo and routinely report changes in their behavior and/or state of being. Many even report the symptoms of the drug they originally thought they were receiving. The articles used are common studies of the Placebo Effect. The first article is about the unethical use of the placebo and how many persons are deceived by the drug that encompasses their body. The second article speaks on the clinical and neurobiology aspects of placebo drugs. The third article is a study that Dove manufactured for women and their inner beauty; the study went viral throughout the United States very quickly. All three articles build upon one another to show how science has evolved throughout the years. Study Dove composed a research study in which participants were to use a patch to make them feel more beautiful than they already felt. They wanted to see if women would be able to feel their inner beauty by themselves or would they need help from a stimulant of some sort. They used several different women; of different races and backgrounds, to make the trial study a reality. The women were to place the RB-X, or beauty patch, on their...
Words: 1247 - Pages: 5
...Maria Ivy B. Jovellanos Marketing Management, Saturday 9am- 12nn Prof. Ringo M. Gamboa San Beda College-Graduate School of Business Art. 5: Placebo effects of marketing actions: consumers may get what they pay for Welcome to the power of the placebo effect. A placebo is a substance that does not actually provide the promised benefit. In other words, it’s not real. The placebo effect, however, is very existent. Researches done in the past prove that placebos have resulted in true beneficial results - give a group of patients a sugar pill instead of a medication with active ingredients, and some of them will show an improvement in their sickness. The placebo effect works in very real ways because people consciously believe the treatment will work. Not only that but the experience of being treated, even with a “fake” medication creates subconscious associations that lead to recovery. The world of medicine sees it as remarkable evidence of human capacity for self-healing. But what relevance does it have for marketers? Belief and experience are two vital ingredients of effective marketing. In other words, the things we buy fulfill our expectations if belief and experience remain consistent. Simply, marketers know that if they can create a positive expectation in the mind of their customers, and then not do anything to contradict that expectation then they have a good chance that the customer will find that...
Words: 664 - Pages: 3
