Comment on Why is the human body so incredibly bad at responding to colds?

• Nikls94@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  I found a study some time ago about pets and placebos, where the subscription of meds for the pet resulted in different behavior by the pet owner, I couldn’t find it but here’s an article about it: veterinaryprescriber.org/…/the-caregiver-placebo-…

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  • AmidFuror@fedia.io ⁨9⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Good find. Key paragraph:

    When measured objectively over the 42-day evaluation period, limb function improved in 12.1% and worsened in 8.6%, but did not change in most dogs. By contrast, caregivers (both owners and vets) reported improvements in lameness from the start, with the reported improvements increasing with time. The caregiver placebo effect appeared to be around 57% for owners and 40–45% for vets and was statistically significant at all assessment time points.

    Objective measurements are one way to detect this effect. Another would be a true double-blind trial where neither owner nor vet knows which medicine was given.

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• General_Effort@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  Only if the medication doesn’t work. The evidence is that placebos don’t work. Mostly, the placebo effect is a statistical illusion.

  It is plausible that the body will expend more energy to combat a disease if you are (sub-)consciously convinced that you are cared for and don’t need to stress. Stress hormones down-regulate the immune response. Cortisol, used for treatment of autoimmune disorders like asthma and allergies, is a stress hormone.

  But a sham treatment could also have the opposite effect. If your subconscious understands that as a signal that you must get back into action, you may end up releasing stress hormones. These psychological effects are just too idiosyncratic and fickle to be used reliably.

  Stuff like broken bones or cancer doesn’t respond to psychology at all. The body is already doing all it can.

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