All Clarivate websites use cookies to improve your online experience. They were placed on your computer when you launched this website. You can change your cookie settings through your browser.

More information on our cookie policy.

BioWorld. Link to homepage.

Clarivate
  • BioWorld
  • BioWorld MedTech
  • BioWorld Asia
  • BioWorld Science
  • Data Snapshots
    • BioWorld
    • BioWorld MedTech
  • Special reports
    • Aging
    • Artificial intelligence
    • Coronavirus
    • IVDs on the rise
    • Top Biopharma Trends of 2021
    • Top Med-tech Trends of 2021
    • Premium reports
      • BioWorld Financings Reports
      • Disease Incidence & Prevalence Summaries

BioWorld. Link to homepage.

  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Subscribe
BioWorld - Friday, August 19, 2022
Home » Blogs » BioWorld Perspectives » In the Eye of the Beholder

BioWorld Perspectives
BioWorld Perspectives RSS FeedRSS

BioWorld

In the Eye of the Beholder

July 15, 2011
By Anette Breindl
No Comments

Placebos clearly have an effect on patient’s subjective feelings of illness. Many a rueful drug developer, especially of antidepressants, can attest to that. But whether they have a physical effect has not been studied. Researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center have compared three different treatments for asthma; they reported their results in the July 13, 2011, online edition of The New England Journal of Medicine.

The treatments were inhaled Albuterol, which is the standard treatment for asthma attacks; two different forms of placebo (an inactive inhaler and sham acupuncture); and no treatment at all. The researchers found that neither placebo improved objective measures of lung function. But they did improve the patients’ subjective reports of their lung function, compared to the no-treatment control. In other words, the placebos were as effective as the drug in helping patients feel better, though the drug was clearly the only treatment that improved lung function.

So does that mean it worked? Whether making people feel better without improving their physical symptoms constitutes a successful treatment depends on one’s beliefs. And in that, actually it is much like the placebo effect itself.

What do you think? If you have made someone feel better without doing anything for their vital signs, is that success? Or does it just send them toward the abyss in a better mood?

Active Albuterol or Placebo, Sham Acupuncture, or No Intervention in Asthma

Michael E. Wechsler, M.D., John M. Kelley, Ph.D., Ingrid O.E. Boyd, M.P.H., Stefanie Dutile, B.S., Gautham Marigowda, M.B., Irving Kirsch, Ph.D., Elliot Israel, M.D., and Ted J. Kaptchuk N Engl J Med 2011; 365:119-126; July 14, 2011

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Popular Stories

  • Free access to BioWorld coronavirus articles

    BioWorld
    The articles in this collection are from BioWorld’s ongoing coverage of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. They are available for free with registration. Note...
  • Today's news in brief

    BioWorld
    BioWorld briefs for Aug. 19, 2022.
  • Today's news in brief

    BioWorld MedTech
    BioWorld MedTech briefs for Aug. 19, 2022.
  • Pig organ cells

    Whole body cellular function recovery in pigs after death

    Science
    A new system for restoring cell function and tissues in mammals after death could expand the availability of organs for transplantation. The research also opens...
  • TPOXX

    Siga leads monkeypox antiviral research, amid lack of interest from big pharma

    BioWorld
    After declarations from the World Health Organization and the U.S. government that monkeypox is a public health emergency, attention is turning to the pharma...
black cortellis ad

BioWorld Premium

Enjoy extended coverage for the most complete market view with BioWorld, BioWorld MedTech, and BioWorld Asia in a single, easy to access subscription.

Subscribe
  • BioWorld
    • Today's news
    • Analysis and data insight
    • Clinical
    • Data Snapshots
    • Deals and M&A
    • Financings
    • Newco news
    • Opinion
    • Regulatory
    • Science
  • BioWorld MedTech
    • Today's news
    • Clinical
    • Data Snapshots
    • Deals and M&A
    • Financings
    • Newco news
    • Opinion
    • Regulatory
    • Science
  • BioWorld Asia
    • Today's news
    • Analysis and data insight
    • Australia
    • China
    • Clinical
    • Deals and M&A
    • Financings
    • Newco news
    • Regulatory
    • Science
  • BioWorld Science
    • Archives
    • Today's news
    • Search BioWorld Science
    • About
  • More
    • About
    • Archives
    • Article reprints and permissions
    • Contact us
    • Cookie policy
    • Copyright notice
    • Data methodology
    • Podcasts
    • Privacy policy
    • Share your news with BioWorld
    • Staff
    • Terms of use
Follow Us

Copyright ©2022. All Rights Reserved. Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing