Among patients who stopped taking their cholesterol-lowering statin medication due to side effects, researchers found the statin may not have been the culprit: Patients taking a placebo reported the same side effects, according to research presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2020. Statins lower LDL (bad) cholesterol. Some people, however, experience side effects… Continue reading Statins and Side Effects
Tag: placebo
The Most Common Shoulder Surgery Is No Better than A Placebo
Researchers have found that one of the most common shoulder operations – shoulder impingement surgery – has no more benefit than placebo surgery. Shoulder impingement occurs when muscles become inflamed, causing weakness and limitation in movement. In a follow-up two years after the newest study, known as the Finnish Shoulder Impingement Arthroscopy Controlled Trial (FIMPACT),… Continue reading The Most Common Shoulder Surgery Is No Better than A Placebo
Vaginal Estrogen Tablets, Moisturizers, and Placebo Gel All Can Lessen Vaginal Discomfort
A clinical trial comparing two treatments for postmenopausal vaginal discomfort – low-dose vaginal estrogen and a vaginal moisturizer – to placebo treatments found that all three produced symptom improvements. The authors note that better understanding of the causes of postmenopausal symptoms could lead to more effective treatment options for this bothersome problem. The findings were… Continue reading Vaginal Estrogen Tablets, Moisturizers, and Placebo Gel All Can Lessen Vaginal Discomfort
Startling New Research Shows That Heart Stents for Chest Pain May Simply Have a Placebo Effect for Some Patients
Coronary artery stents are lifesaving for heart attack patients, but new research suggests that the placebo effect may be larger than previously thought. The findings come from the ORBITA trial, which stands for “Objective Randomised Blinded Investigation With Optimal Medical Therapy of Angioplasty in Stable Angina”. (Editor’s note: That is the British spelling of the… Continue reading Startling New Research Shows That Heart Stents for Chest Pain May Simply Have a Placebo Effect for Some Patients
Placebo Drugs Can Predict Successful Depression Treatment
If a depressed patient responds well to a placebo, that may determine how well they’ll respond to a real medicine, according to new research. People who can marshal their brain’s own chemical forces against depression, it appears, have a head start in overcoming its symptoms with help from a medication. But those whose brain chemistry… Continue reading Placebo Drugs Can Predict Successful Depression Treatment
The Placebo Effect May Really Work
The placebo effect – being “cured” by something that really isn’t medicine – seems to work even if you know what you’re getting is fake, researchers say. The discovery, by University of Colorado-Boulder researchers, was published in The Journal of Pain. But the investigators also found that the subjects need ample time – four sessions… Continue reading The Placebo Effect May Really Work
Positive Expectations and Depression
Positive thinking may help some depressed patients after all, according to a new study on the placebo effect in medical research. Over the past three decades, researchers say, there’s been a sharp rise in patients’ positive response to placebos – the fake medication given to some study participants who think it’s actual medicine. The latest… Continue reading Positive Expectations and Depression