The placebo effect: illness and interpersonal healing
| Autor: | Ted J. Kaptchuk, Luana Colloca, Franklin G. Miller |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2009 |
| Předmět: |
medicine.medical_specialty
Psychotherapist Mental Healing Disease Placebo Article Social support Interpersonal relationship History and Philosophy of Science medicine Humans Clinical significance Interpersonal Relations Psychiatry Evidence-Based Medicine business.industry Health Policy Communication Social Support General Medicine Evidence-based medicine Professional-Patient Relations Placebo Effect Issues ethics and legal aspects Treatment Outcome Chronic Disease Anxiety medicine.symptom business |
| Popis: | The placebo effect has been a source of fascination, irritation, and confusion within biomedicine over the past 60 years. Although scientific investigation has accelerated in the past decade, with particular attention to neurobiological mechanisms, there has been a dearth of attention to developing a comprehensive theory of the placebo effect. In this article, we attempt to address this gap by reviewing evidence relating to the reality and clinical significance of the placebo effect. We suggest the hypothesis that the placebo effect operates predominantly by producing symptomatic relief of illness, such as pain, anxiety, and fatigue, rather than by modifying the pathophysiology of disease. The placebo effect as a clinical phenomenon is characterized as representing the interpersonal component of healing, as distinct from spontaneous natural healing and technological healing dependent on physiologically active pharmaceuticals or procedures. Speculations regarding the evolution of the placebo effect are entertained. Finally, we argue that research on the placebo effect has the potential to revitalize the art of medicine and discuss ethical issues relating to the use of placebo interventions in clinical practice and in research on the placebo effect. We hope that this preface to developing a theory of the placebo effect will provoke debate and alternative conceptualizations and theoretical hypotheses in service of promoting a deeper and more fruitful understanding of this elusive phenomenon. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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