...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...
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...Is it ethical to allow individuals with the disease to receive a placebo when participating in a research study into Alzheimer’s disease? Lit Review Dementia is an umbrella term or senility which means an enormous group of symptoms that are caused by disease that affect the brain, for instance Alzheimer’s disease. The brain starts to shrink because increasingly the cells die, which is known as brain atrophy (image below) which can sometimes be seen in a brain scan of someone in the later stages of dementia. When the cells die and it cannot be replaced at all. What is Alzheimer’s disease? The term Alzheimer is named after by Alois Alzheimer, who was a German psychiatrist and neuropathologist in 1906. Alois discovered the Alzheimer’s disease (AD) which is the most ordinary form of dementia that has no treatment, medication or cure at all. Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive disease, that the brain gets damaged gradually, as this happens the symptoms becomes more sever then eventually leads to death. It is a brain disorder that extremely disturbs a person’s knowledge to carry out daily activities. Throughout the course of the disease, protein, ‘plaques’ and ‘tangles’ develop in the structure of the brain, leading to the death of brain cells. People who have AD have a shortage of some beneficial chemicals in their brain, which are involved with the transmission of messages with the brain. However, some drug may help keep symptoms from getting worse for a restricted...
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...S0895-4356(97)00203-5 The Powerful Placebo Effect: Fact or Fiction? Gunver S. Kienle* and Helmut Kiene ¨ Institut fur Angewandte Erkenntnistheorie und Medizinische Methodologie, D-79112 Freiburg, Germany ABSTRACT. In 1955, Henry K. Beecher published the classic work entitled ‘‘The Powerful Placebo.’’ Since that time, 40 years ago, the placebo effect has been considered a scientific fact. Beecher was the first scientist to quantify the placebo effect. He claimed that in 15 trials with different diseases, 35% of 1082 patients were satisfactorily relieved by a placebo alone. This publication is still the most frequently cited placebo reference. Recently Beecher’s article was reanalyzed with surprising results: In contrast to his claim, no evidence was found of any placebo effect in any of the studies cited by him. There were many other factors that could account for the reported improvements in patients in these trials, but most likely there was no placebo effect whatsoever. False impressions of placebo effects can be produced in various ways. Spontaneous improvement, fluctuation of symptoms, regression to the mean, additional treatment, conditional switching of placebo treatment, scaling bias, irrelevant response variables, answers of politeness, experimental subordination, conditioned answers, neurotic or psychotic misjudgment, psychosomatic phenomena, misquotation, etc. These factors are still prevalent in modern placebo literature. The placebo topic seems to invite sloppy...
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...The term doctors always comes out as someone that saves lives however do doctors actually save lives? Or are they the reason why patients do not survive? In the beginning of the medical studies it was common and secretive for doctors to conduct experiments without the patient's knowledge for many years. The reason doctors give for conducting these experiments is for only the sole purpose of saving humans however it is wrong to kill a human to save another one. No one’s life is worth more everyone has the same blood therefore the doctors reason is just an excuse. It is ethically wrong to give placebos to patients without knowledge. To begin with, placebos are typically used as a fake treatment that makes consumers believe they are actually...
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...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...
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... 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 repeatedly facing your fears The...
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...15, 2011 PS101S General Psychology Research Question: Can marijuana reduce pain in patients with neuropathic pain? Johnson, J.R. (2009). Study of the Efficacy, Safety, and Tolerability of THC. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management The main purpose of this article was to determine what effect marijuana had on subjects with neuropathic pain. A key question the author looked at was whether or not marijuana use would relieve patients with advanced cancer-related pain. Participants were either given a placebo or marijuana in the study. Patients who received marijuana reported significantly greater pain reduction than the group that received the placebo. The experimenters used the pain Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) to determine the results of the study. Doctor Johnson concluded that THC from marijuana is very effective at treating cancer patients whose pain is not fully relieved by opioids. Future research should use marijuana in treating diseases other than cancer that cause unbearable pain to patients. Ellis, R.J. (2008). Smoked Medicinal Cannabis for Neuropathic Pain in HIV: A Randomized, Crossover Clinical Trial. Neuropsychopharmacology, Vol. 34, 672-680. The main purpose of this article was to see whether or not marijuana would relieve HIV-related pain in patients. Doctor Ellis wanted to see if marijuana would reduce neuropathic pain caused by HIV. Patients were either given marijuana or placebo marijuana cigarettes. The goal was to see...
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...The Placebo Effect The activity I chose to write about was on Dr. Walter A. Brown’s article in Scientific American about placebos and their effect on the patients. His article described what a placebo is and if it is ethical for doctors to prescribe this treatment to their patients. Dr. Brown, who is a psychologist at Brown University, decided to do a study on the effects of a placebo. A placebo is any treatment or drug with no medicinal value that is given to a patient to relieve symptoms of an ailment. His hypothesis in the article focused on if the placebos had any effect on the patients who took the placebos. To test his hypothesis, Dr. Brown and his colleagues performed experiments on patients who had depression. To test his idea, he employed what is known as the double blind technique. This type of experimentation involves that neither the doctors nor the patients know if they are receiving the real stuff or simply sugar pills (placebos). Only the experimenters know who gets what. What this supposedly does is that the patient will mentally think that the doctor is giving him/her the real drug and they will soon be feeling better. When in reality, it is themselves, not the medicine, which makes them feel better. These are the findings of Dr. Brown. In his experiments on the placebos, he found that the placebo can make a person feel better, but it can also have no effect what-so-ever. In his study of the depressed patients, about 50% of the subjects...
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...public, because of a few scientists. Antidepressants are the most researched substance worldwide. The long history of research analysis proves the efficacy of antidepressants, but there are those who will falsely interpret clinical trials, or pool together selected studies to justify their claims. Scientists will agree that there are many flaws with antidepressant research, but with ever increasing new ways to re-test old research, the evidence of positive improvements are becoming harder to deny. This report shows that even though scientists are trying to disprove the effectiveness of antidepressants, the evidence of the scientific facts prove that antidepressants work for depression. Table of Contents List of Figures and Tables iv Glossary of Terms v General Information vii Thesis Statement vii Report Audience vii Author’s Purpose vii Argumentative Requirements Fulfillment Statement vii Introduction 1 Americans and Depression 2 Background of Depression and Antidepressants 4 Depression 4 Antidepressants 5 Depression Scale 5 Clinical Trials 6 Claims..................... 6 The Truth ......................................................................................................................................6 Prescribing methods 8 Placebo Effect 8 Efficacy of Antidepressants 9 Antidepressants and Levels of Depression 9 New Research 10 Pharmaceutical Companies 10 References 13 List of Figures and Tables Table 1. Depression Statistics…………………………………………………………………...
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...combination of both. Alternative medicines are a healthier choice and the benefits are endless, including less expensive and lower risks of side effects. Nontraditional treatments, such as alternative medicine, should be incorporated into mainstream medicine because there are more choices and the benefits outweigh the risks. The main nontraditional treatment being focused on is alternative medicine. There are many different things that people think of when they hear the words alternative medicine. But what is it? Alternative medicines are medical products and...
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...Quantitative Research Critique Quantitative research, which includes experimental research, was used in the study by Mohammadpour, Mohammadian, Moghadam, & Nematollahi (2013) to discover how localized heat effects chest pain in patients with acute coronary syndrome. This research critique critically reviews the strengths and limitations of their research study by examining the following areas: the protection of human participants, the problem statement, data collection and analysis methods, and what the implications to nursing practice and future research are. The research study was limited in the number of participants, but reported persuasive results proving that topical heat therapy makes a significant improvement in decreasing chest pain in patients with acute coronary syndrome. Protection of Human Participants Participants in this study were patients in a coronary care unit at a hospital affiliated with Gonabad University of Medical Sciences in Gonabad, Iran. Information about the goal of the research project was provided to each of them and whether or not they wanted to participate was completely voluntary. If they wished to withdraw from the study they could do so at any point. Additionally, a written informed consent form was signed by each participant. This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Gonabad University of Medical Sciences. Benefits and risks of participation in this study were not identified by the authors. However, patients who were in...
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...Clinical trials are a set of procedures in medical research and drug development that are conducted to allow safety (or more specifically, information about adverse drug reactions and adverse effects of other treatments) and efficacy data to be collected for health interventions (e.g., drugs, diagnostics, devices, therapy protocols). These trials can take place only after satisfactory information has been gathered on the quality of the non-clinical safety, and Health Authority/Ethics Committee approval is granted in the country where the trial is taking place. Depending on the type of product and the stage of its development, investigators enroll healthy volunteers and/or patients into small pilot studies initially, followed by larger scale studies in patients that often compare the new product with the currently prescribed treatment. As positive safety and efficacy data are gathered, the number of patients is typically increased. Clinical trials can vary in size from a single center in one country to multicenter trials in multiple countries. Due to the sizable cost a full series of clinical trials may incur, the burden of paying for all the necessary people and services is usually borne by the sponsor who may be a governmental organization, a pharmaceutical, or biotechnology company. Since the diversity of roles may exceed resources of the sponsor, often a clinical trial is managed by an outsourced partner such as a contract research organization or a clinical trials unit in...
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...How effective is the use of medical marijuana? Can the treatments benefits outweigh the risks? In recent years the debate over the use of medical marihuana increased rapidly. Whereas a patient suffering from chronic pain in California can easily get a doctor’s prescription for medical cannabis, the German patient suffering from the very same symptoms would not be allowed to treat his ache with marijuana, which is the most common name for the hemp plant, or Cannabis sativa. Cannabis can be classified as one of the oldest drugs known to humanity. Its history dates back until the Neolithic times in China about 6,000 years ago. From there, the plant spread to India and the Middle East where it widely served as an analgesic, anticonvulsant, antispasmodic, antiemetic and hypnotic (Hall &Degenhardt, 2003). Moreover the hemp was reported to be a successful appetite stimulant as well as effective in treating a number of disorders, including tetanus, neuralgia, asthma and migraine as well as in alcohol and opium addiction and in the treatment of mental illnesses (McKim& Hancock, 2013). Not recognized at first as a substance producing intoxicating effects, marijuana’s use spread soon all over Europe and the U.S. in the 19th century, where it was used for medical purposes. The plants medical benefits were substituted in the early 20th century by pharmaceutical opiates, acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) and sedatives like chloral hydrates and the barbiturates, which could be given...
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...Probiotic bacteria are used to treat or prevent a broad range of human diseases, conditions, and syndromes. In addition, there are areas of medical use that have been proposed for future probiotic applications. Randomized double-blind studies have provided evidence of probiotic effectiveness for the treatment and prevention of acute diarrhea and antibiotic-induced diarrhea, as well as for the prevention of cow milk–induced food allergy in infants and young children. Research studies have also provided evidence of effectiveness for the prevention of traveler's diarrhea, relapsing Clostridium difficile–induced colitis, and urinary tract infections. There are also studies indicating that probiotics may be useful for prevention of respiratory infections in children, dental caries, irritable bowel syndrome, and inflammatory bowel disease. Areas of future interest for the application of probiotics include colon and bladder cancers, diabetes, and rheumatoid arthritis. The probiotics with the greatest number of proven benefits are Lactobacillus rhamnosus strain GG and Saccharomyces boulardii. Probiotics have been defined as “live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host” . Probiotics have been used to treat a wide range of diseases, ailments, and conditions that affect humans and animals. Additional medical applications have been proposed for potential future uses, depending on the outcomes of future experimental studies. The clinical uses...
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...Review There have been various studies performed from 1990-2006 of the effects of calcium plus vitamin D supplemental therapies on fractures. A 2 year study was conducted from February 1st 1999 to March 31st 2002 5292 participants were recruited across 21 hospitals in the UK and randomly allocated to four equal groups receiving 800 IU vitamin D3,1000mg calcium, vitamin D3 (8000 IU) combined with calcium (1000mg), or a placebo. Data was collected by postal questionnaire every 4 months with dietary intake of calcium and vitamin D monitored along with sun exposure. Time interval for follow up was between 24 and 62 months. There was difficulty with compliance concerning the allocated tablets as most patients were above the age of 70 limiting cognitive function as well as gastrointestinal complaints. This study measured dietary intake and sun exposure however participants above the age of 70 have a higher incidence of fractures form falls. Participants receiving supplemental therapy of intake of more than 200 IU vitamin D or more than 500 mg calcium supplements in the past 5 years were excluded. (Grant A.M., Anderson F.H., Avenell A.,Campbell M.K, Cooper C., Donaldson C., Francis M.R., Gillespie W.J., Robinson C.M., TorgersonD.J., &Wallace W.A.,2005). In another study, there only female participants randomized into groups of 4 receiving injectable vitamin D2, oral vitamin D3 and calcium. A placebo was not used and patients were seen 3,6,12 months post fracture. Participants...
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