The Weird Power of the Placebo Effect, Explained

Alvin · Mar 18, 2019

Over the last several years, doctors noticed a mystifying trend: Fewer and fewer new pain drugs were getting through double-blind placebo control trials, the gold standard for testing a drug’s effectiveness.

In these trials, neither doctors nor patients know who is on the active drug and who is taking an inert pill. At the end of the trial, the two groups are compared. If those who actually took the drug report significantly greater improvement than those on placebo, then it’s worth prescribing.

When researchers started looking closely at pain-drug clinical trials, they found that an average of 27 percent of patients in 1996 reported pain reduction from a new drug compared to placebo. In 2013, it was 9 percent.
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https://getpocket.com/explore/item/the-weird-power-of-the-placebo-effect-explained

andypants · Mar 18, 2019

The asthma example feels particularly relevant.

If you go by self-report, it looks like the placebo, albuterol, and sham acupuncture are all equally effective.

The objective measure, however, shows only the albuterol improved airflow. (FEV is a measure of lung function.)
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ME/CFS Skeptic · Mar 18, 2019

On Ted Kaptchuk:

His own randomized controlled trials found that giving patients open-label placebos — sugar pills that the doctors admit are sugar pills — improved symptoms of certain chronic conditions that are among the hardest for doctors to treat, including irritable bowel syndrome and lower back pain. And he wonders if chronic fatigue — a hard-to-define, hard-to-treat, but still debilitating condition — will be a good future target for this research.
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The Weird Power of the Placebo Effect, Explained

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The Weird Power of the Placebo Effect, Explained

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ME/CFS Skeptic Senior Member (Voting Rights)

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