Guest Post Courtesy of the Progressive Health Blog
Clinical drug trials compare patients treated with a new drug with those who take placebo pills. Placebos look identical to the drug but contain no active ingredients. The placebo effect occurs when a patient taking the “dummy” pill experiences a psychological benefit because they believe they are receiving treatment. Now research reports that placebo may have a better outcome than pain-relieving drugs.
The study, published in Science Translational Medicine , examined how expectations of a treatment influences response to pain-relieving drugs. Researchers at Oxford University and Cambridge University, UK, administered an opioid drug to 22 healthy volunteers and manipulated the expectations of pain relief. The participants had MRI scans of the brain taken while heat was applied to the leg until pain was felt. An opioid drug or placebo was administered by an intravenous line. The researchers found that the MRI showed the brain’s pain receptors responded according to the participants’ treatment expectations.
Read more here:
Placebo More Effective Than Pill-Popping?
Enrich your life and the lives of others by learning Aromatherapy, Reflexology or Color/Crystal Therapy at the Alternative Healing Academy! Convenient and easy-to-handle payment plans are available! Get 10% OFF of any course simply by liking our Facebook Page! After liking the page, click ‘shop now‘ to get the discount.
