Saturday, October 25, 2008

U.S. Doctors Regularly Prescribe Real Drugs As Placebo Treatments, Study Claims 

"Many rheumatologists and general internal medicine physicians in the US say they regularly prescribe 'placebo treatments' including active drugs such as sedatives and antibiotics, but rarely admit they are doing so to their patients, according to a study on bmj.com.

The use of placebo treatments in clinical practice has been widely criticised because it is claimed that the practice by its very nature is deceptive and therefore violates patients' autonomy. But advocates of placebo treatments argue that they could offer effective treatment for many chronic conditions without necessarily deceiving patients. Despite the controversy, to date there has been little data on doctors' attitudes towards and the use of placebo treatments in the US." (Science Daily)

The only people bent out of shape by this are those unsophisticated physicians who can believe only in the concrete and materialistic explanations for how they 'heal'. Most of medicine mobilizes patients' healing resources through symbolism, ritual and enlistment into a belief system. That's why I have such a hard time with the (equally concrete) critics of Western allopathic medicine. It is not that they offend me by not believing in what I do, but rather that they undermine the power of belief which is the basis of how physicians heal. In short, most treatment is probably mediated by the placebo response. Patients inherently give up their autonomy by consulting a health professional, and treatment will not work without an element of faith on their part.

Related

• The Placebo Effect Examined And Studied (Articles Base)
• When Doctors Prescribe Sham Medicines (Articles Base)
• Medicine's Dirty Little Secret...: (Brothers Judd)
• Why Doesn't My Doctor Know This? (barbarany)
• Are a Popular Doping Drugs Effects All in the Mind? (Scientific American)

Labels: Health, medicine, Placebo

10/25/2008 09:15:00 AM   •  

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Mythbusting Dept. 

"...The apparent desire for more shut-eye, together with oft-repeated assertions that our grandparents slept longer, all too easily leads to the conclusion that we in the west are chronically sleep-deprived. Adding to these concerns are recent claims that inadequate sleep causes obesity and related disorders, such as diabetes.

Plus ca change. Claims of widespread sleep deprivation in western society are nothing new - in 1894, the British Medical Journal ran an editorial warning that the 'hurry and excitement' of modern life was leading to an epidemic of insomnia.

Even then it probably wasn't true. The fact is that most adults get enough sleep, and our collective sleep debt, if it exists at all, has not worsened in recent times. Moreover, claims that sleep deprivation is contributing to obesity and diabetes have been overblown. My assertion is that the vast majority of people sleep perfectly adequately. That's not to say that sleep deprivation doesn't exist. But in general we've never had it so good." (New Scientist)

Labels: Health, Insomnia, Sleep, Sleep deprivation

10/18/2008 10:05:00 AM   •  

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Obesity, Abnormal 'Reward Circuitry' In Brain Linked 

dopamine

"Although recent findings suggested that obese individuals may experience less pleasure when eating, and therefore eat more to compensate, this is the first prospective evidence for this relationship... Using brain imaging and chocolate milkshakes, scientists have found that women with weakened 'reward circuitry' in their brains are at increased risk of weight gain over time and potential obesity. The risk increases even more for women who also have a gene associated with compromised dopamine signaling in the brain." (Science Daily)

Labels: Brain, Dopamine, Health, Obesity, Weight gain

10/16/2008 11:28:00 PM   •  

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Not a Cough in a Carload: 

Images from the Tobacco Industry Campaign to Hide the Hazards of Smoking (Stanford via abby)

Related

• Vintage Cigarette Ad Exhibit Opens at NYPL
• Old Cigarette Ads Evoke Smoky Nostalgia
• Advertising: When Doctors, and Even Santa, Endorsed Tobacco

Labels: Hazards of Smoking, Health, Tobacco, Tobacco smoking

10/12/2008 01:21:00 AM   •  

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Tea 'healthier' drink than water 

"Public health nutritionist Dr Carrie Ruxton, and colleagues at Kings College London, looked at published studies on the health effects of tea consumption.They found clear evidence that drinking three to four cups of tea a day can cut the chances of having a heart attack.Some studies suggested tea consumption protected against cancer, although this effect was less clear-cut.Other health benefits seen included protection against tooth plaque and potentially tooth decay, plus bone strengthening.Dr Ruxton said: 'Drinking tea is actually better for you than drinking water. Water is essentially replacing fluid. Tea replaces fluids and contains antioxidants so it's got two things going for it.'" (BBC)

Related?

• Pharmaceutical residues in drinking water may be worse than suspected (Yahoo News)

Labels: Beverages, Drinking water, Health

9/14/2008 11:58:00 AM   •