We've all heard about the Placebo Effect - all those studies you hear about in journals, in the corner of Men's Health magazine, in interviews or via your GP.
You know, the one where half the test subjects are given painkillers and the other half are given corn syrup tablets (but told they are given painkillers), and then lo and behold, both groups note the same pain relief.
It really is amazing what the mind is capable of, especially when you trick it into thinking things are getting better. I call it delusion, others call it positive thinking, but the underlying concept may very well be the same - the Placebo Effect is very powerful, but seems to defy all medical logic.
Dr. Ted Kaptchuk is an expert at the Placebo Effect.
He has the equivalent of a Ph.D in Chinese Medicine, but has devoted the past 15 years of his life to testing and retesting this effect on unsuspecting patients; in fact, some of them were even told they were taking a placebo and noted positive results. He is the only faculty member of Harvard Medical School without a Doctorate in Western Medicine, and his studies are causing a storm - mainly because they seem to discredit traditional medicine at every turn.
Today's Daily Quota is an article from the current issue of Harvard Magazine.
It discusses Dr. Kaptchuk's eccentric work, his numerous studies, and some external counter-studies that seem to discredit his own results.
Overall, it's a great article - especially reading about all those unconventional placebo-skewed medical results.
READ IT HERE
You know, the one where half the test subjects are given painkillers and the other half are given corn syrup tablets (but told they are given painkillers), and then lo and behold, both groups note the same pain relief.
It really is amazing what the mind is capable of, especially when you trick it into thinking things are getting better. I call it delusion, others call it positive thinking, but the underlying concept may very well be the same - the Placebo Effect is very powerful, but seems to defy all medical logic.
Dr. Ted Kaptchuk is an expert at the Placebo Effect.
He has the equivalent of a Ph.D in Chinese Medicine, but has devoted the past 15 years of his life to testing and retesting this effect on unsuspecting patients; in fact, some of them were even told they were taking a placebo and noted positive results. He is the only faculty member of Harvard Medical School without a Doctorate in Western Medicine, and his studies are causing a storm - mainly because they seem to discredit traditional medicine at every turn.
Today's Daily Quota is an article from the current issue of Harvard Magazine.
It discusses Dr. Kaptchuk's eccentric work, his numerous studies, and some external counter-studies that seem to discredit his own results.
Overall, it's a great article - especially reading about all those unconventional placebo-skewed medical results.
READ IT HERE
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