Sunday, March 26, 2006
Placebo vs. Placebo
Ted Kaptchuk recently published a study of the affects of two placebo treatments. Sugar Pills took on fake acupuncture to see which one worked better with a control group of volunteers who had chronic arm pain. The folks in the study were of course unaware that anything was pretend. Half the subjects received the sugar pills which they were told was a new drug for repetitive strain injury while the other half received acupuncture needles who's tips retracted so they never penetrated the skin.
The results? 25% of the fake needle group reported side effects including pain from the needles while 30% of the pill group reported side effects that included dizziness, dry mouth, and fatigue. 3 subjects withdrew from the study when reducing the dosage failed to control the side effects they were experiencing. In the end those taking the sugar pills indicated an average decrease in their pain of 1.5 points out of 10 while the needle group said their pain lessened by 2.6 pts on average. So those recieving fake acupuncture faired better than those taking fake pills.
That's pretty fascinating when you stop to think about it. What does it really mean? Are more elaborate forms of treatment better for your brain even if they do nothing physically at all? It does suggest this. For me I'm wondering if believing in something harmless that promises something good leads to a better mental state. But then how do we figure out what's really harmless?
Ted Kaptchuk recently published a study of the affects of two placebo treatments. Sugar Pills took on fake acupuncture to see which one worked better with a control group of volunteers who had chronic arm pain. The folks in the study were of course unaware that anything was pretend. Half the subjects received the sugar pills which they were told was a new drug for repetitive strain injury while the other half received acupuncture needles who's tips retracted so they never penetrated the skin.
The results? 25% of the fake needle group reported side effects including pain from the needles while 30% of the pill group reported side effects that included dizziness, dry mouth, and fatigue. 3 subjects withdrew from the study when reducing the dosage failed to control the side effects they were experiencing. In the end those taking the sugar pills indicated an average decrease in their pain of 1.5 points out of 10 while the needle group said their pain lessened by 2.6 pts on average. So those recieving fake acupuncture faired better than those taking fake pills.
That's pretty fascinating when you stop to think about it. What does it really mean? Are more elaborate forms of treatment better for your brain even if they do nothing physically at all? It does suggest this. For me I'm wondering if believing in something harmless that promises something good leads to a better mental state. But then how do we figure out what's really harmless?
