Word: placebo
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...destroy the virus and one that boosts that response. Neither shot has proved effective alone, yet together they seemed to trigger a modest immunity--although no one yet knows why. Fifty-one people who received the vaccine became infected with HIV, compared with 74 who received a saltwater placebo, a barely significant difference. And while a lower risk of infection normally derives from a drop in the amount of virus circulating in the blood--with less virus floating around, there is less chance that HIV can bind to healthy cells--that did not happen in this study. Which means that...
...heroin and enrolled in a methadone-treatment program, which made it easier for investigators to keep people in the study for a full 12 weeks. Half of the participants were given five injections of the vaccine over the course of the study, while the other half received a placebo...
...vaccine produced a strong antibody response in 38% of the 55 people who received all five doses. When antibody levels were highest - during weeks 9 through 16 of the trial - these participants used significantly less cocaine (as measured by urine samples taken three times a week) than either the placebo group or those who did not produce sufficient antibodies. Overall, cocaine use was reduced by at least half in 53% of the people who produced a strong antibody response, compared with 23% of those who had a weaker antibody response. That's far from abstinence, although reduction in drug...
...diet itself may have a profound effect on behavior. A University of Oxford researcher recently published controversial findings hinting that prisoners who were fed vitamin supplements - and therefore presumably getting well-balanced nutrition - had lower rates of disciplinary events and aggressive outbursts than a control group who were given placebo pills. While the association is preliminary, says Moore, "I think looking at diet is a fairly novel way to think of behavior over the life course...
...government should see this as a sign that advertising works and duly subsidize or commission media campaigns targeted at lesser-known, cost-effective drugs. Even better, it should support new types of treatments, bringing their effectiveness into public consciousness and increasing the placebo effect associated with them. But even more importantly, the government should extend the provisions for research on the comparative effectiveness of different treatments and of different treatments against a placebo. We should be pleased that placebos provide these opportunities for saving money to use in health care—now we must pursue them...