Citation: Lähdeoja T, Karjalainen T, Jokihaara J, et alSubacromial decompression surgery for adults with shoulder pain: a systematic review with meta-analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine 2020;54:665-673. Online issue publication: May 15, 2020 Abstract Objective To determine the benefits and harms of subacromial decompression surgery in adult patients with subacromial pain syndrome lasting for more […]
Nat Hum Behav. 2019 Oct 21. doi: 10.1038/s41562-019-0749-5. [Epub ahead of print] Chen PA1, Cheong JH1, Jolly E1, Elhence H1, Wager TD1, Chang LJ2. Abstract Medical treatments typically occur in the context of a social interaction between healthcare providers and patients. Although decades of research have demonstrated that patients’ expectations can dramatically affect treatment outcomes, […]
Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2019 Sep-Oct;37 Suppl 120(5):118-123. Epub 2019 Oct 15. Zhang W Abstract Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis. Pain and its related function and stiffness are currently the major symptoms and primary outcomes for treatment. However, the treatment in the past has been primarily targeting on the peripheral changes in […]
Do antidepressants work better than placebo? Published Thursday 18 July 2019 By Tim Newman Scientists have been debating the efficacy of antidepressants for decades. The latest paper to throw its hat into the ring concludes that there is little evidence to show that they perform better than placebos. In 2017, around 17.3 million adults in the United […]
Published Sunday 16 September 2018 A new study has asked whether certain people with chronic pain should be given sugar pills to manage their symptoms. Scientists tap into the individual differences that make some people more susceptible to a placebo. A placebo is a medical intervention — be it a pill, injection, or sham surgery […]
Patients may be experiencing placebo effect, but it’s still an effect, rheumatologist says by John Gever, Managing Editor, MedPage Today April 19, 2018 CHICAGO — In dealing with osteoarthritis, both patients and their physicians often have a hard time understanding what to make of novel “cures” such as platelet-rich plasma (PRP), stem cell treatments, and […]
Underplayed redundancy in placebo effect research (on cheap vs costly fake medicine) A celebrated 2015 research paper makes much the same discovery as a paper that won an Ig Nobel Prize for medicine years earlier. The discovery is about the power of pricing fake medicines. The new paper makes only an indirect, beery allusion to […]
The Lancet VOLUME 391, ISSUE 10118, P329-338, JANUARY 27, 2018 Prof David J Beard, DPhil Published:November 20, 2017DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(17)32457-1 Summary Background Arthroscopic sub-acromial decompression (decompressing the sub-acromial space by removing bone spurs and soft tissue arthroscopically) is a common surgery for subacromial shoulder pain, but its effectiveness is uncertain. We did a study to assess its […]
Berend W SchreursEmail the author Berend W Schreurs, Stephanie L van der Pas Published: 20 November 2017 Scoping the shoulder (arthroscopy) for an impingement syndrome is responsible for up to 70% of all shoulder problems. A study in the past showed that the scientific clinical evidence in favor of this type of shoulder surgery is […]
Sihvonen R, et al. Ann Rheum Dis. 2017;doi:10.1136/annrheumdis-2017-211172. June 7, 2017 Recently published results showed patients with a degenerative meniscal tear who underwent arthroscopic partial meniscectomy had no significant benefit over placebo surgery. “As the evidence started to mount that arthroscopic partial meniscectomy (APM), the most common orthopedic procedure, offers little more than just placebo […]
No difference in outcomes for patients with degenerative meniscal tears and no OA by Judy George, Contributing Writer, MedPage TodayMay 28, 2017 After 2 years of follow-up, arthroscopic partial meniscectomy (APM) was no better than sham surgery for patients with degenerative medial meniscal tears and no evidence of knee osteoarthritis, reported Finnish researchers in Annals of the Rheumatic […]
Journal of Clinical Epidemiology Volume 83, March 2017, Pages 18-23 Alice P.Gu Abstract Objective To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to study the magnitude of the placebo effect associated with sham surgery procedures. Study Design and Setting We conducted a systematic search for randomized controlled clinical trials comparing any type of surgery to a […]
New evidence suggests the fake drugs may cause changes in the body, not just the mind By SUMATHI REDDY July 18, 2016 1:36 p.m. ET Scientists are finding a growing number of ways placebos appear to bring about real health benefits in patients. The research could someday lead to increased use of placebos—substances that have […]
John Mandrola, MD June 23, 2016 Maybe electrophysiologists are too close to see it: the possibility that ablation of atrial fibrillation is no more effective than a placebo. Turkish authors boldly raised[1] this question in a recent editorial in the International Journal of Cardiology. They likened AF ablation to renal denervation, a procedure that promised to transform […]