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medpundit |
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Thursday, December 01, 2005Your medicine really could work better if your doctor talks it up before handing over the prescription. Research is showing the power of expectations, that they have physical - not just psychological - effects on your health. Scientists can measure the resulting changes in the brain, from the release of natural painkilling chemicals to alterations in how neurons fire. Among the most provocative findings: New research suggests that once Alzheimer's disease robs someone of the ability to expect that a proven painkiller will help them, it doesn't work nearly as well. There was a M*A*S*H episode based on this idea. The surgeons had run out of morphine, so they gave their patients sugar pills and told them it was the most powerful pain reliever ever made. And it worked. I've tried to "talk up" pain medication in patients who are particularly anxious about their injuries, but not with much success. Maybe they don't trust me. posted by Sydney on 12/01/2005 10:32:00 PM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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