Placebo responses in patients with gastrointestinal disorders.
Over the last several years there has been a growing interest in placebo, not only as an inert control in clinical trials, but also in the placebo effect as a group effect as well as a reaction in individual subjects. Methodological factors such as regression to the mean and natural history of the disease play a role in the evaluation of a possible placebo effect. In this report, we discuss several factors including Pavlovian conditioning, beliefs outcome, expectations, and other factors as potential mediators of the placebo response. Placebo effects are common in gastrointestinal diseases and there seems to be no clear difference between placebo effects in functional gastrointestinal diseases (functional dyspepsia and irritable bowel syndrome) and organic gastrointestinal disease (duodenal ulcer and inflammatory bowel disease).
Musial
Frauke
F
Department of Internal Medicine, Integrative and Complementary Medicine, Kliniken Essen-Mitte, Knappschafts-Krankenhaus, Am Deimelsberg 34a, Essen 45276, Germany. f.musial@kliniken-essen-mitte.de
Klosterhalfen
Sibylle
S
Enck
Paul
P
D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D015990:Placebo Effect; D012107:Research Design