Serum correlates of the placebo effect in irritable bowel syndrome.

December 24, 2009

Serum correlates of the placebo effect in irritable bowel syndrome.

Neurogastroenterol Motil. 2009 Dec 22;

Authors: Kokkotou E, Conboy LA, Ziogas DC, Quilty MT, Kelley JM, Davis RB, Lembo AJ, Kaptchuk TJ

Abstract Background In diseases defined primarily by the subjective nature of patient self-report, placebo effects can overwhelm the capacity of randomized controlled trials to detect medication-placebo differences. Moreover, it is unclear whether such placebo effects represent genuine psychobiological phenomena or just shifts in selective attention. Knowledge of predictors of the placebo response could improve the design of clinical trials and the delivery of personalized medical care. Methods In patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a subset of our previous study that were randomized to placebo treatment (sham acupuncture) or no-treatment group (waitlist), we tested an enriched panel of 10 serum biomarkers at the enrolment and the 3rd week of intervention, using a multiplex electrochemiluminescent immunoassay. Key Results More pronounced changes overtime in serum levels of osteoprotegerin (OPG) have been found in patients who received placebo treatment compared with the waitlist group (P = 0.039). Moreover, serum levels of OPG at baseline were found to be higher (P = 0.0167) in patients who subsequently achieved adequate relief (AR) of their IBS symptoms, independently of their treatment group. Besides, serum levels of TNF-related weak inducer of apoptosis (TWEAK) at baseline were also higher (P = 0.0144) in patients who reported AR and in particular in those who received the placebo treatment. Conclusions & Inferences These two measurable biological parameters associated with placebo, namely serum OPG and TWEAK, provide a proof of principle for discovering putative molecular signatures of placebo response in IBS and perhaps in other illnesses with patient self-reported outcomes.

PMID: 20028464 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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Laser Acupuncture Effects

December 18, 2009

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New research shows low-level laser therapy (LLLT) reduces pain after treatment for non-specific neck pain.

LLLT uses noninvasive, painless laser irradiation to aid tissue repair, relieve pain and stimulate acupuncture points. Incidence of adverse effects is low and similar to that of placebo, with no reports of serious events, the release noted.

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  Laser machine helps smokers to kill their cravings for good Portsmouth News But a revolutionary therapy, which shines a laser pen on acupuncture points on the face and hands, has worked wonders for the pair. ...

Shining a laser on your ear is probably the last thing a smoker would think of to kill their cravings.

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Low-Level Laser Therapy May Be Helpful for Chronic Neck Pain

December 1, 2009

Image by Irina Souiki via Flickr

From Medscape Medical News – Laurie Barclay, MD

December 1, 2009 — Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) may be helpful for chronic neck pain, according to the results of a review and meta-analysis reported in the November 13 Online First issue of The Lancet.

“Neck pain is a common and costly condition for which pharmacological management has limited evidence of efficacy and side-effects,” write Roberta T. Chow, MBBS, from the Nerve Research Foundation, Brain and Mind Research Institute, University of Sydney in Australia, and colleagues. “…LLLT is a relatively uncommon, non-invasive treatment for neck pain, in which non-thermal laser irradiation is applied to sites of pain. We did a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials to assess the efficacy of LLLT in neck pain.” >>>READ MORE<<<

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The reviewers searched computerized databases for studies in patients with acute or chronic neck pain comparing the efficacy of LLLT using any wavelength vs placebo or vs active control (eg, exercise). Pain intensity was the main endpoint of the study, with effect size defined as a pooled estimate of mean difference in change in millimeters using a 100-mm visual analog scale.

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Placebo effect behind many natural cures

November 10, 2009

Belief that a treatment will work can be beneficial, experts say

People looking for natural cures will be happy to know there is one. Two words explain how it works: “I believe.”

It’s the placebo effect — the ability of a dummy pill or a faked treatment to make people feel better, just because they expect that it will. It’s the mind’s ability to alter physical symptoms, such as pain, anxiety and fatigue.

In just the past few weeks, the placebo effect has demonstrated its healing powers. In tests of a new drug to relieve lupus symptoms, about a third of patients felt better when they got dummy pills instead of the drug.

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Believing in Treatments That Don’t Work

July 17, 2009

By TARA PARKER-POPE

As Washington debates health care reform, emergency room physician Dr. David H. Newman explores how medical ideology often gets in the way of evidence-based medicine.

By David H. Newman, M.D.

In the early throes of a heart attack, caused by an abruptly clotted artery, the stunned heart often beats quickly and forcefully. For decades doctors have administered “beta-blockers” as a remedy, to reduce consumption of limited oxygen supplies by calming and slowing the straining heart. Giving these drugs in the early stages of a heart attack represents elegant medical ideology.

But it doesn’t work.

Recent press reports detailing the dangers of cough syrup for children have noted that cough syrup doesn’t work. True: No cough remedies have ever been proven better than a placebo, either for adults or children. Yet their use is common.

Patients with ear infections are more likely to be harmed by antibiotics than helped. While the pills may cause a small decrease in symptoms (for which ear drops work better), the infections typically recede within days regardless of treatment. The same is true for bronchitis, sinusitis, and sore throats. Unnecessary antibiotics are still given to more than one in seven Americans each year for these conditions alone, at a cost of more than $2 billion and tens of thousands of serious adverse medication effects requiring treatment.

Back surgeries to relieve pain are, in the majority of cases, no better than nonsurgical treatment. Yet doctors perform 600,000 of these surgeries each year, at a cost of over $20 billion.

More than a half million Americans per year undergo arthroscopic surgery to correct osteoarthritis of the knee, at a cost of $3 billion. Despite this, studies show the surgery to be no better than sham knee surgery, in which surgeons “pretend” to do surgery while the patient is under light anesthesia. It is also no better than much cheaper, and much less invasive, physical therapy.

Read more…

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Drug Limits Stomach Trouble in Patients Taking Low-Dose Aspirin

July 6, 2009

They were randomly selected to take either 20 milligrams of famotidine or a bplacebo/b twice a day. After 12 weeks, all the participants underwent an b…/bbr
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FDA approves pemetrexed as maintenance therapy for non-squamous NSCLC

July 6, 2009

The approval is based on findings from a multicenter, double blind, phase-3 trial that compared pemetrexed (Alimta, Eli Lilly) with bplacebo/b. b…/bbr
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Rebound Effect for Heartburn Meds

July 6, 2009

In a study conducted in 120 healthy people who were randomized to receive eight weeks of treatment with a PPI followed by four weeks of a bplacebo/b or 12 b…/bbr
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Impact on Erectile Function and Sexual Quality of Life of Couples

July 6, 2009

AIMS: To determine the efficacy of tadalafil 5 mg taken once daily compared with placebo on men’s EF and sexual quality of life, and to determine the impact …
http://www.urotoday.com

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