Evidently I'm too lazy to write, so I'll just link to someone else's work.
Wired has a very interesting article regarding the placebo, the "sugar pill" used in drug trials. Basically the pharmaceutical companies are having more difficulties getting drugs passed by the FDA due to what appears to be an increasing efficacy in placebos compared to drugs under test, and even compared to some drugs already on the market.
If research can uncover the mechanism behind the effectiveness of placebos, then in possibly many circumstances doctors could actually help patients with a little artful lying, without resorting to expensive drugs with associated side effects. This is intriguing because (1) what are the ethical implications of lying to a patient to heal them, and (2) what is the density of artful lying required before the placebo response stops working?
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I didn't have the patience to make it even half way through that article, but it is pretty interesting that we are capable of curing ourselves if we think that a pill is doing the work for us. I doubt doctors would ever start lying to us and giving us placebos, but if they did, we'd probably be healthier than ever without all the junk in our systems! Ha! I think this would mainly work with psychiatric medications b/c, ironically enough, those conditions are all in our heads. I guess if you're mental enough to need the meds, you're mental enough to fool yourself into thinking they're helping you. LOL! Sorry, I'm in a goofy mood. I'm glad you finally posted another blog--been a while!
ReplyDeleteIn recent Japanese medical field, concept of informed consent has become one of the biggest point of contention. Mainly the point of the argument is notification of cancer. One doctor argued that notification to patients might deprive patients of "miracle" ,which is occured by human's capacity to heal. When I read that article, I thought it was nonscientific claim. However, your posting make me reconsider the justification of concept of informed consent.
ReplyDeleteThank you for food for thought.