November 21, 2006
No acupuncture vs. no pill
Discover Magazine describes a cute study where they pit fake acupuncture (with secretly retracting needles) vs. sugar pills to see which placebo effect works better:
After 10 weeks, subjects taking sham pills said their pain decreased an average of 1.50 points on the 10-point scale. After 8 weeks, those receiving fake acupuncture reported a drop of 2.64 points. In other words, not receiving acupuncture reduces pain more than not taking drugs.
Kaptchuk says that the rituals of medicine explain the difference: Performing acupuncture is more elaborate than prescribing medicine. Other rituals that may make patients feel better include "white coats, and stethoscopes that you don't necessarily use, pictures on the wall, the way you reassure a patient, and the secretaries that sign you in." Careful manipulation of such rituals could make all types of treatment more effective, Kaptchuk suggests.
(Thanks to Jill for the link!)
Posted by bug to Mind and Brain at November 21, 2006 4:21 PMPatients whose normal doctors spent more time with them also had a greater improvement than patients dealing with in'n'out doctors. I expect at least a chunk of all sickness is not having enough human contanct, and enough reinforcement that people care about you.
Posted by: Judith at November 21, 2006 8:11 PMJust wanted to say I found your blog today and I loved its thoughtful comments. You got another regular reader :-)
Posted by: Jorge Aranda at November 30, 2006 6:46 AM