Placebo Effects: Understanding the mechanisms in health and disease Review

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(More customer reviews)Sugar pills are surely an obscure interest.Yet, author Benedetti provides an engaging account bound to fascinate clinical researchers,health professional including psychologists and alternative practitioners, as well as ethicists, regulators, guinea piggers, anthropologists, students in these fields, and zealous patients.

Recent challenges to the ethics of using placebos in all types of clinical trails have led to a reexamination of the topic.After decades of focusing on active drug, research is paying more attention to the placebo side of trials.

Benedetti, one of the foremost researchers of placebos, conveys enthusiasm and uncovers aspects not typically addressed.He states much of what's been called placebo effects in clinical trials is not due to the placebo.Placebo related effects (note the plural) are possible without even using placebos.He distinguishes neurobiological placebo effects from improvements in placebo groups attributable to other factors.Benedetti explores differences in placebo responses in pain and among several organ systems.He examines the role of biochemistry, conditioning, and expectations in placebo effects.Particularly intriguing is a theory that placebo and placebo related effects originated from social interactions among early hominoids. One chapter is devoted to ethical considerations.Benedetti proposes improved designs for conducting clinical trials.

The book is well organized, starting each chapter with bulleted summary points, and ending with numbered points for further discussion, and references.It's more readable than many in the genre. In such a rapidly developing field, you'll probably want to balance this passionate account with critics of the work.

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Product Description:
The placebo effect is one of the most widely used and familiar terms within science and medicine, yet it is not always clear just what we mean by a placebo effect.Though we might describe a placebo effect as being 'all in the mind', we now know that there is a genuine neurobiological basis to this phenomenon.
In recent years our knowledge of the neural bases of the placebo effect has developed markedly, and we now have a far better understanding of how it can influence both the course of a disease and the response to therapy. This is the first book to critically reviewthe mechanisms of placebo and placebo-related effects across all medical conditions, diseases, and therapeutic interventions. It describes the main psychological and biological mechanisms of placebo responsiveness across the entire spectrum of medical disciplines. In addition, it looks at the clinical and ethical implications of administering placebos. Exhaustive in its coverage, and written by a world authority in the field, this is the definitive reference text to the placebo effect - one that will be essential for researchers and clinicians across a wide range of medical specialities.

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