The Placebo Effect: It Works Because You Say So

The Placebo Effect: It Works Because You Say So

You go to a doctor. The doctor gives you a pill. You get better. Then you find out the doctor gave you a sugar pill and you got better anyway. There are two reasons this can happen. The first is because you might have gotten better without bothering to go to the doctor at all. The second is called the Placebo Effect. Many scientists believe it is what makes homeopathy and herbal cures work, and it has some folks in the UK pretty ticked off.

On January 30, a group called 10:23 is organizing an event to protest an English drug store chain's decision to sell homeopathic remedies. Boing Boing carried the story that 300 unbelievers across the UK are each planning to swallow an entire bottle of homeopathic pills. It's a mass "overdose" intended to show that homeopathic remedies are nothing but sugar pills and fake medicine. The event should be interesting, particularly if any of the protesters go into a sugar-induced coma.

Homeopathy is based on three central ideas: First, the Law of Similars: whatever causes your symptoms can also cure them. If you can't sleep, try caffeine. Second, the Law of Infinitesimals. When you dilute a cure in water, it gets stronger. Third, the Law of Succussion, which states that each time you dilute your cure in water you are to tap the bottle to "potentize" it. Homeopaths believe this allows the water to retain the memory or vibration of the cure.

If you believe in homeopathy, this information is unbearably exciting. If you don't, it sounds like superstition and "magik" from 1796, which is when homeopathy was invented by one Samuel Hahnemann.

But what if it's not about what's in the pills at all? What if their potency is predicated upon the intent of the user, the mystique surrounding the pills, or the package they came in? In 1955, an anesthesiologist named Henry Knowles Beecher said that a drug or doctor's success is due to the patient's expectation of a desired outcome. His research suggested that more than 30 percent of the time, patients felt better when they believed the treatment was going to make them feel better. Subsequent researchers say Beecher's research was flawed, but there's no denying that when people in white coats and medical degrees on the wall say reassuring words, people feel better. It also works when the people are wearing feathers and a loin cloth if that's the cultural norm of what a healer looks like.

Expectations are powerful: Reference a puzzling study from the 1920s. A research team wanted to know if making factory lighting brighter would improve worker productivity. It did. But then worker productivity also improved when researchers made the lighting dimmer. The secret? The workers came to expect that any change would make them more productive, no matter whether they could see or were working in the dark.

We're still in the dark regarding the Placebo Effect. It might prove to be the real mechanism for understanding healing energy based on intention and belief. It might be a vestige of old superstitions and "magik." It certainly reveals a lot about how people heal.

A Brief Overview of Homeopathic Hemorrhoid Treatment

Tuesday, January 26 2010 @ 01:33 AM Central Standard Time

Homeopathy is another form of hemorrhoid treatment aimed at relieving the symptoms. The practice has been used for more than two centuries as a form of alternative remedy for a wide range of diseases. This here is a simple referential guide to give you a general idea of homeopathy. It’s still essential to consult a medical professional first to know the best treatment course for your hemorrhoids. Homeopathy Homeopathy, as previously mentioned, is an alternative medicinal procedure that differs from traditional medical treatment. Unlike its counterparts, homeopathic hemorrhoid treatment uses diluted substances to jumpstart the body’s healing abilities. The alternative medicine is based on the theory that like cures like. Although homeopathic hemorrhoid treatment is generally free from harmful side-effects, instances of toxicity are still possible, which is why trying the treatment method on your own without help from a certified homeopathic practitioner is clearly not advised. Curative elements of homeopathy Homeopathic hemorrhoid treatment is always in the form of diluted preparations. The key to a successful and safe homeopathic therapy is to incredibly dilute the curative components used. At first glance, the ingredients of homeopathic preparations will seem odd and dangerous, especially at high quantities. But the process of preparing these ingredients greatly reduces the risks. On the other hand, the remedies shouldn’t be handled alone as it’s easy to make a harmful error. Furthermore, homeopathic practitioners use a potency scale to gauge the strength of the remedies. The acceptable potency level is 30 and below, anything higher is reserved for extreme cases and should only be administered by an experienced homeopathic practitioner. The preparations are also always taken orally, which should cause the recipient to exercise control whenever taking the diluted solution. Too much homeopathic remedy may either cause specific levels of toxicity or even subpar effects. Fortunately, instructions are always provided for self-medicating patients. Beyond homeopathy Like other hemorrhoid cures, immediacy is of critical importance. Result is the single-most crucial component any hemorrhoid remedy must provide. In the case of homeopathic hemorrhoid treatment, three doses without any result should prompt you to stop the therapy. This type of treatment is used to address a specific combination of symptoms: The right combination of ingredients for pain will be different for the medication used for itching or bleeding. It is helpful to know everything you can about this treatment approach before trying it out on your own, or better yet, consult an experienced homeopathic therapist first to learn more about this alternative solution to hemorrhoids. Mark Michael Ferrer Hemorrhoid Treatment

Sceptics plan 'mass overdose' in protest against homeopathic medicine

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 12:12 PM on 22nd January 2010

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Hundreds of people will swallow a bottle of pills in protest against the prolific sale of homeopathic medicine

Hundreds of homeopathy sceptics are planning a 'mass overdose' of pills in protest at the continued marketing of the 'useless' medicines by high street chemist Boots.

More than 300 people will each swallow an entire bottle of pills or drink large quantities of homeopathic fluids in order to prove their claim that the medicines are ineffective.

The protest will take place on high streets across the country at 10.23 on January 30.

The group behind the stunt, known as 10.23, has lobbied the NHS to reduce its £4billion annual budget on homeopathic medicines and is now targeting Boots.

The popular chemist boasts large quantities of remedies including arnica, St John's wort, flower remedies and calendula cream.

The system of complementary medicine claims to treat and prevent disease by using greatly diluted forms of herbs and minerals.

It has grown into a multi-million pound industry in the UK, with Prince Charles among its advocates.

But critics say there is little scientific backing for its claims to ease conditions including asthma, migraine, irritable bowel syndrome, arthritis and depression.

Group 10.23 has accused Boots of profiting from what is an 'unscientific and absurd pseudoscience.'

Martin Robbins, a spokesman for the society, said: 'The remedies themselves may not be directly harmful, but there is a real danger in misleading customers into thinking that homeopathy is somehow equivalent to real medicine.

'Patients may believe that they are treating themselves or their children adequately, and delay seeking appropriate treatment; or they may receive dangerous advice after consulting with homeopaths rather than their GPs.'

Boots sells a wide range of homeopathic medicines including rhus tox, belladonna, sulphur and nux vom

He added: 'The 'overdose' is a dramatic way of demonstrating to the public that these remedies have literally nothing in them. If eating an entire box of homeopathic sleeping pills fails to send one person to sleep, then how on Earth can their sale be justified?'

The debate over homeopathic medicine was reignited in October when Boots' professional standards director Paul Bennett told a committee of MPs that there was no medical evidence that homeopathic pills and potions work.

'There is certainly a consumer demand for these products,' he said. 'I have no evidence to suggest they are efficacious.

'It is about consumer choice for us and a large number of our customers believe they are efficacious.'

Mr Bennett made his comments to the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee, which is investigating the scientific evidence behind homeopathy.

This week Mr Bennett defended the chemist's right to sell homeopathic remedies.

'Boots UK is committed to providing our customers with a wide range of healthcare products to suit their individual needs, we know that many people believe in the benefits of complementary medicines and we aim to offer the products we know our customers want,' he said.

'Our pharmacists are trained healthcare professionals and are on hand to offer advice on the safe use of complementary medicines.'

The protests will take place in Edinburgh, Manchester, Bristol, Liverpool, Glasgow, Birmingham, Southampton and London, with sympathy demonstrations in Australia, Canada and the United States.

New Biological Models Of Homeopathy Published In Special Issues

Main Category: Complementary Medicine / Alternative Medicine

Also Included In: Biology / Biochemistry; Allergy
Article Date: 20 Jan 2010 - 1:00 PST

The journal Homeopathy has published a two part special issue focusing on biological models of homeopathy. The special issue highlights experiments on homeopathic treatments in biological models, ranging from whole animals and plants to cell cultures and enzymes, showing a remarkable range of findings.

Homeopathy is a form of complementary medicine which is controversial because of its use of extremely dilute medicines. Although there is considerable clinical research, homeopathy remains the subject of a heated debate. The special issue makes an important contribution to this debate, by reviewing laboratory experiments with high dilutions. It includes reviews and new findings in biosystems, ranging from whole animal behavioral, intoxication and inflammation models through diseased and healthy plant models, to test tube experiments using isolated cells, cell cultures or enzymes.

Featured articles include one on the basophil degranulation test, a test tube model of allergy, developed by Jean Sainte Laudy. These results have now been confirmed in multi-centre and independent experiments. Other articles include systematic reviews of healthy and diseased plant models and experimental work on the effect of homeopathic arsenic on wheat seedlings. There are reviews of mouse and rat models of homeopathic responses and a review, including original results of animal models of homeopathic treatment of anxiety-like behaviours.

Other articles focus on the basic concept of homeopathy 'like cures like': in a series of cell-culture experiments Fred Wiegant's team at the University of Utrecht demonstrated the importance of similarity. Christian Endler and his multinational team conclude that seven different biological models of high dilution response with positive results have been reproduced in multi-centre and/or independent experiments.

Editor-in-Chief Dr Peter Fisher commented: 'Throughout its 200 year history claims that homeopathy has 'real' (as opposed to placebo) effects have been hotly contested. Our special issue brings together a wide range of scientific work in biological systems, where there can be no placebo effect, showing that there are now several biological experiments which yield consistently positive results with homeopathic dilutions'.

Source: Fiona Macnab
Elsevier