Placebo

New Drug to Curb Smoking shows Positive Results

aboey — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 22:03:38 -0500

Melbourne, Australia —31 March, 2008— Research has shown that varenicline tartrate – a novel new drug specifically developed for smoking cessation – allows smokers to abstain from cigarettes significantly longer and more effectively than smokers using a placebo.

Depressed adolescents not harmed by being part of placebo group in clinical trial

harminka — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 01:44:00 -0600

In a national clinical trial, adolescents with moderate to severe depression first given a placebo treatment and then an antidepressant medication alone or in combination with therapy responded just as well over the long term as participants who received active treatment throughout the study, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers report.

Genes determine whether sugar pills work

harminka — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 12:51:56 -0600

It is a well-known fact in drug trials that individuals can respond just as well to placebos, sugar pills, as to the active drug. On the other hand, it is difficult to explain why only certain people get better from placebos.

US doctors regularly prescribe real drugs as placebo treatments

harminka — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 10:54:29 -0500

Many rheumatologists and general internal medicine physicians in the US say they regularly prescribe "placebo treatments" including active drugs such as sedatives and antibiotics, but rarely admit they are doing so to their patients, according to a study on bmj.com today.

Costly placebo works better than cheap one

harminka — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 05:30:21 -0600

A 10-cent pill doesn't kill pain as well as a $2.50 pill, even when they are identical placebos, according to a provocative study by Dan Ariely, a behavioral economist at Duke University.

Popular alternative therapy for psoriasis performs no better than placebo

harminka — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 03:26:02 -0600

Anecdotal evidence touting the healing power of the Indian spice turmeric for psoriasis received a setback in a prospective study published this month by a leading dermatology journal stating that the low response rate of patients who ingested the active ingredient of the exotic spice was probably a result of the placebo effect.

Internists say they prescribe placebos on occasion

harminka — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 15:12:44 -0600

In the first study examining American physicians' use of placebos in clinical practice in the 21st Century, 45 percent of Chicago internists report they have used a placebo at some time during their clinical practice researchers report in the January issue of Journal of General Internal Medicine.

New paper on oxytocin reveals why we are generous

harminka — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 07:09:59 -0600

Neuroeconomist Paul J. Zak of Claremont Graduate University has new research, and a paper, “Oxytocin Increases Generosity in Humans,” which will be published November 7, 2007 in PLoS ONE, the online, open-access journal from the Public Library of Science. This research extends his finding based on oxytocin and trust, which was published in Nature two years ago.

Only Bifantis can claim efficacy vs. placebo for IBS symptoms

harminka — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 08:08:53 -0500

A new analysis of randomized controlled trials evaluating probiotics in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) has found that Bifantis®, Bifidobacterium infantis 35624, the sole ingredient in Align® (manufactured by Procter & Gamble), is the only probiotic currently able to demonstrate significant improvement in IBS symptoms based upon a properly designed research study.

Promising treatment in battle against alcohol dependence

harminka — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 13:19:55 -0500

Researchers at the University of Virginia have led a multisite clinical trial showing that the drug topiramate is significantly more efficacious than placebo at curbing alcohol dependence. Subjects had to be drinking heavily and were not abstinent when they started the trial.

Loss of treatment response is due to loss of placebo response

harminka — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 08:53:45 -0500

A new study by Rhode Island Hospital researchers indicates that a relapse during antidepressant continuation treatment may be due to a relapse in patients who were not true drug responders. The loss of drug response may be due to loss of placebo response (a positive medical response to taking a placebo as if it were an active medication.).

Medication helping people with obsessive-compulsive disorder

harminka — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 05:44:51 -0500

Researchers at the University of Minnesota have found that a drug originally developed to fight tuberculosis may help people with obsessive-compulsive disorder make more progress in therapy sessions.