Through the Improbable Research blog comes this article from Wired, "Placebos Are Getting More Effective. Drugmakers Are Desperate to Know Why." http://www.wired.com/medtech/drugs/magazine/17-09/ff_placebo_effect?curr entPage=all
An excerpt: Some products that have been on the market for decades, like Prozac, are faltering in more recent follow-up tests. In many cases, these are the compounds that, in the late '90s, made Big Pharma more profitable than Big Oil. But if these same drugs were vetted now, the FDA might not approve some of them. Two comprehensive analyses of antidepressant trials have uncovered a dramatic increase in placebo response since the 1980s. One estimated that the so-called effect size (a measure of statistical significance) in placebo groups had nearly doubled over that time. It's not that the old meds are getting weaker, drug developers say. It's as if the placebo effect is somehow getting stronger. Additionally the article provides a nice history and overview of the modern placebo effect as well as some current applications, such as this (ethically suspect) one. One recent afternoon in [Fabrizio Benedetti's] lab [at the University of Turin], a young soccer player grimaced with exertion while doing leg curls on a weight machine. Benedetti and his colleagues were exploring the potential of using Pavlovian conditioning to give athletes a competitive edge undetectable by anti-doping authorities. A player would receive doses of a performance-enhancing drug for weeks and then a jolt of placebo just before competition. -- Sue Frantz <http://flightline.highline.edu/sfrantz/> Highline Community College Psychology, Coordinator Des Moines, WA 206.878.3710 x3404 sfra...@highline.edu <mailto:sfra...@highline.edu> Office of Teaching Resources in Psychology, Associate Director Project Syllabus <http://teachpsych.org/otrp/syllabi/syllabi.php> APA Division 2: Society for the Teaching of Psychology <http://teachpsych.org/otrp/syllabi/syllabi.php> APA's p...@cc Committee <http://www.apa.org/ed/pcue/ptatcchome.html> --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
