[lit-ideas] Re: The flu

The peer-reviewed study was published at 
http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/short/344/21/1594 The page has a short 
summary of the 
study.

There is a more general description of the study at 
http://www.cellularwisdom.com/placebo-effect.html

yrs,
andreas
www.andreas.com


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Andy Amago" <aamago@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>; <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, November 28, 2004 6:53 PM
Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: The flu


>I agree that in the absence of bacterial and other infections which are som=
> etimes fatal or become chronic (stomach ulcers caused by bacteria for examp=
> le), very often, if not usually, the body has an amazing ability to heal it=
> self.  That's the line about the cold going away in 7 days if treated and a=
> week if not treated.  The immune system is amazing in what it can do.  And=
> what it can overdo in autoimmune diseases and the like, including causing =
> an inflammatory response from too much fat on the body.
>
> There was a study a few years ago where people with knee problems had "ghos=
> t" surgery, i.e., they were convinced they had surgery (scar, etc.) when in=
> fact they had not.  Those people improved just as much as the ones who had=
> actual surgery.  Likewise with Parkinson's Disease.  These people's proble=
> ms were intractable before the "surgeries".  Newsweek did an entire issue o=
> n the mind/body connection a few months ago. =20
>
> While I don't dispute these authors' findings, I'm sure if they're real sci=
> entists they'd be the first to say that their results have to be replicated=
> and peer reviewed before they enter the mainstream as fact.
>
>
> Andy Amago
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Andreas Ramos <andreas@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Nov 28, 2004 6:49 PM
> To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: The flu
>
>> Colds and other sickness relief is often a result of the
>> placebo effect.  The placebo effect is so powerful and so
>> quantitatively measurable that people with Parkinson's disease and
>> knee problems have reported improvement of symptoms from placebo
>> treatments.  It might be why chicken soup "works".
>
> There is no placebo effect.
>
> Researchers put patients with diseases in three groups: Group 1 got treatme=
> nt, Group 2 got a=20
> placebo, and Group 3 got nothing.
>
> Group 2 and 3 had the same results (some got better, some got sicker). The =
> placebo had no=20
> effect.
>
> The explanation is that if you get sick, most likely, you'll get better ver=
> y soon anyway.=20
> Most people shake off most illnesses anyway, REGARDLESS of what they do (ta=
> ke chicken soup,=20
> vitamin C, dance with serpents, pray to their local sun god, a shot of whis=
> key, etc.) or do=20
> nothing about it at all.
>
> See the study by A. Hr=F3bjartsson & P. C. G=F6tzsche, 2001 on the placebo =
> effect.
>
> "A. Hr=F3bjartsson & P. C. G=F6tzsche found that in many studies where a co=
> ntrol group was used=20
> that did not get any treatment at all, the effects in the no-treatment grou=
> p were almost=20
> equal to the effects in the placebo group. Most studies however only use a =
> placebo group as=20
> control. The authors concluded that the placebo effect is overrated, and th=
> at studies in the=20
> future should have a no-treatment group when possible, to make sure that ef=
> fects would not=20
> be attributed to a placebo effect while they are totally natural effects th=
> at would have=20
> occurred anyway. In a follow-up study (A. Hr=F3bjartsson & P. C. G=F6tzsche=
> , 2004) the same=20
> authors were able to confirm their previous results and concluded: "We foun=
> d no evidence of=20
> a generally large effect of placebo interventions. A possible small effect =
> on=20
> patient-reported continuous outcomes, especially pain, could not be clearly=
> distinguished=20
> from bias".
>
> yrs,
> andreas
> www.andreas.com=20
>
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