Placebo DOES result in physical, inexplicable improvements.BooBear wrote:@ Cheer-
Cheer, I agree that the placebo effect exists. But I have trouble associating physical restoration to placebo.
How about the case of the multiple personality people who, when in their every day personality, require glasses, have diabetes and high blood pressure. But when they revert to another "personality", they no longer need glasses as their vision is 20/20, and their blood sugar and blood pressure are normal. And they have an accent. And are left handed instead of right handed.
If you don't think the human body is capable of unexplained physical transformation, then have a look at those examples of multiple personalities. Or the other website I posted where the man's cancer disappeared when he believed his treatment was working, only to have the cancer return when news reports surfaced that the treatment was ineffective.
You have not read very far if you do not believe that placebo can have profound physical effects on a person.
Placebo is real, it's a fact. We must accept it.
I don't understand what the big deal is. We can STILL believe that CCSVI treatment has an impact on MS yet be practical enough to appreciate that there IS and will be a placebo effect occurring as well. If you don't think it's ALL a placebo effect and the treatment has merit, then go for it. If you DO think it's all a placebo effect, then wait for the clinical trials to determine it before you get treatment.
We don't have to decide this now. Research will eventually tell us. In the meantime, we just need to accept that there will be a certain amount of improvement that can be attributed to placebo. How much or for how long, we can't tell until the trials are done. No big deal. I don't know why people get so defensive, placebo is just a fact of life, an example of the amazing connection between body and mind.