Music On Prescription Could Help To Treat Emotional And Physical Pain
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Headache is a very common complaint with over 90% of all persons experiencing a headache at some time in their lives. Headaches commonly are tension-type (TTH) or migraine. They have high socioeconomic impact and can disturb most daily activities. Treatments range from pharmacologic to behavioral interventions. In a study published online today in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, a group of Dutch researchers analyzed 119 randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs) and determined the magnitude of the placebo effect and no treatment effect on headache recovery rate.
A recent survey, led by McGill Psychiatry Professor and Senior Lady Davis Institute Researcher Amir Raz, reports that one in five respondents – physicians and psychiatrists in Canadian medical schools – have administered or prescribed a placebo. Moreover, an even higher proportion of psychiatrists (more than 35 per cent) reported prescribing subtherapeutic doses of medication (that is, doses that are below, sometimes considerably below, the minimal recommended therapeutic level) to treat their patients. Included in this report is a video interview with the lead researcher.
Simulated acupuncture – sometimes referred to as placebo – is just as beneficial as real acupuncture for treating nausea in cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy, according to a study from Karolinska Institutet and Linköping University in Sweden. Patients, who received only standard care including medications for nausea, felt significant more nausea than patients in both the acupuncture groups. The results of the study were published in the open access journal, PLoS One. Check the end of this report for a link to download the full-text study.
For most of us, the “placebo effect” is synonymous with the power of positive thinking; it works because you believe you are taking a real drug. But a new study rattles this assumption. Researchers at Harvard Medical School’s Osher Research Center and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) have found that placebos work even when administered without the seemingly requisite deception. The study is published December 22 in the open access journal, PLoS ONE. Check the end of this report for a link to download this study.
In Part 1 of this 2-part series, I provide an overview of pain tolerance, factors that affect pain tolerance, and assessment of clinical pain. Today’s Part 2 focuses on a detailed discussion of several guided imagery and healing techniques, such as “Mind Controlled Analgesia,” positive and negative imagery, and the importance of relaxation. Readers are encouraged to first review Part 1 to better understand the topics explored in this second and final discussion of pain and guided imagery.
BMED Report detailed the effectiveness of anti-depressant medication with only the most severely depressed in 2008 in “Anti-Depressant Medication & The Placebo Effect”. A new analysis of randomized trials indicates that compared with placebo, the magnitude of benefit of antidepressant medications varies with the severity of depressive symptoms, and may provide little benefit for patients [...]
Autism Speaks and the Autism Clinical Trials Network report that a new low dose, melt-in-your-mouth version of Fluoxetine failed to reduce repetitive behaviors in children and adolescents diagnosed with Autism. Physicians’ clinical observations that Fluoxetine controlled these behaviors spurred this research. Fluoxetine is selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) that is commonly referred to as a “anti-depressant.” Researchers discovered that although Fluoxetine did reduce repetitive behaviors, the reductions were no greater than children given a sugar pill (placebo).
No better way to kick off a new research website than with controversial research. Let’s start first with the concept of a “placebo effect.” The placebo effect is very common in most forms of healthcare. When people who are ill (mentally or physically) believe that they will get better – guess what – they do. These are real changes though the placebo effect may wear off over time.
