The Future of Placebos in Medical Care
http://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2012-01-05/future-placebos-medical-care
New research shows that even when people know they're taking a placebo, it still makes them feel better. Kojo examines the biological and psychological factors behind the placebo effect and explores how the benefits of placebos could change the future of medical care.
Guests
Ted Kaptchuk
Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Director, Program in Placebo Studies & Therapeutic Encounter, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School
Wayne Jonas
President and CEO, Samueli Institute; former Director of the Office of Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health
Comments
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Someone had better inform the uninsured and the medically bankrupt that placebos weren't attached to the bills they receive for medical care. In the end, people are actually paying for services not rendered. The money they spend is not imaginary.
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine has funded the interesting research done by Ted Kaptchuk. They're reachable at 888-644-6226. There are some great videos with information on placebo.
http://nccam.nih.gov/news/2010/122210.htm
Just thought I'd share.
Date: May 9, 2011
Speaker: Luana Colloca, M.D., Ph.D.
Topic: The Science of the Placebo Effect
Watch the lecture at videocast.nih.gov/summary.asp?Live=10192
Great show, Kojo! It was refreshing to hear a show about the actual power of placebos -- and the science behind -- rather than the usual pablum about "mind over matter." Clearly, mind and body are one essence -- there is no separation.
The way I understand it, the placebo effect is activated when the mind/body/spirit is stimulated -- whether by ritual or a healer or an "inert" pill -- to start the very mysterious "healing" process. After all, it’s not an outside influence that heals us: healing is an inside job!
I would also like to comment on the story told by your last caller, about seeing a red light above his wife’s aching sciatica nerve. What he was describing is a well-known phenomenon in energy healing: he was seeing the energy of the pain, and worked with that energy to relieve the pain. While most doctors are unfamiliar with the concept of energy or “chi,” those of us who practice Healing Touch and other forms of energy medicine are trained to relieve pain and dysfunction with a very gentle and subtle form of touch (on or off the body.)
As your guests mentioned, touch heals. And most of us in this culture receive way too little healing touch. I’ve written about my understanding of energy medicine at www.hands-to-heart.com, and there's a short YouTube video at http://tinyurl.com/7foo927. I urge your listeners to explore some of the alternative modes of healing available in the Washington area. It’s a new year: time for new ideas, and new beginnings. Thank you for beginning the conversation, Kojo!
One of the most intriguing things about the placebo effect is that some people have been found to benefit more than others. It's reminiscent of hypnosis, where susceptibility varies among the general population along a Bell-shaped curve. Some people can be easily hypnotized, others not at all.
Dr. Ernest Hartmann, of Tufts University, has found evidence that "thin boundary" people - i.e., individuals who are extremely sensitive, open, or vulnerable - are more suggestible as well as hypnotizable. If the placebo effect is mediated by similar traits (openness, trust, sensitivity), we could reasonably suppose that thin boundary people will derive more benefit from placebos than "thick boundary" people, i.e., those who are hard-headed, rigid, or skeptical.
More information on the Boundary concept can be found on Dr. Hartmann's page, http://web.me.com/ernesthartmann/ERNEST_HARTMANN_MD/HOME.html. I explore the emotional and health implications of his approach at my own website, www.youremotionaltype.com.
Where is the link to the conference that was mentioned being held at the Italian Embassy on January 20, 2012 on related research on placebos that is opened to the public?