Interesting programme on Radio 4 last night on this subject. Helps explain placebos and homeopathy perhaps!
"A patient's belief that a drug will not work can become a self fulfilling prophecy, according to researchers. They showed the benefits of painkillers could be boosted or completely wiped out by manipulating expectations. Professor Anthony Jones, Salford Royal Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: "Work from our own lab and those of others indicates that expectations are a key driver to pain perception and to placebo analgesic effects. So this provides further confirmation of that idea in relation to drug effects. "
No comments:
Post a Comment