event rates in the studies invalidate the results of our study (1). First, we disagree that a prominent apparent nocebo effect biases toward underdetection of side effects in placebo-controlled trials. The nocebo phenomenon refers to symptoms, physiologic changes, or both that follow administration of a placebo that the patients believe to be an active drug (2). Since patients enrolled in place...

BACKGROUND Pain is the principal clinical symptom of osteoarthritis (OA), and development of safe and effective analgesics for OA pain is needed. Drug development of new analgesics for OA pain is impaired by substantial change in pain in patients receiving placebo, and more data describing clinical characteristics and pain categories particularly associated with this phenomenon is needed. The p...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effects of a combination of micronutrient antioxidants (selenium, beta-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E and methionine) with allopurinol in patients with limited cutaneous systemic sclerosis (SSc). METHODS The study was designed as a placebo-controlled double-blind crossover study. A carryover effect was detected retrospectively for some of the prescribed antioxidants,...

BACKGROUND The vascular endothelium secretes a balance of dilator and constrictor substances which regulate vascular tone. During ischemic stress, this balance changes. After a short period of ischemia, a protective mechanism known as reactive hyperemia (RH) contributes to a post-ischemic increase in blood flow. The agents regulating this phenomenon remain controversial. AIM The purpose of th...

BACKGROUND Autoregulation of GFR, i.e. maintenance of relative constancy of GFR despite variations in mean arterial pressure (MAP) >80 mmHg, is impaired in diabetic kidney disease; furthermore, some antihypertensive drugs may jeopardize autoregulation. The aim of our study was to establish if spironolactone affects the ability to autoregulate GFR. METHODS Sixteen hypertensive type 1 diabetic ...

The graduated response of this patient to haloperidol indicates that it was the drug's pharmacological action, rather than any placebo effect, that relieved the persistent sneezing. There may also be merit in the hypothesis on which the treatment was based, with the inference that, as haloperidol is a potent dopamine-receptor blocker,3 repetitive sneezing may depend on a disturbance in the cere...

Vascular acrosyndromes constitute a common reason for physician visits. They are associated with connective tissue disease; for example, 90% of patients with scleroderma experience Raynaud's phenomenon. The rheumatologist must strive to establish the diagnosis, to identify a potential underlying cause, and to prescribe effective treatment when the symptoms are incapacitating. Raynaud's phenomen...

Raynauds phenomena (RP) is a commonly encountered clinical manifestation which may be primary or secondary to underlying disease. There is imbalance between vasoconstricting and vasodilating factors. Physical examination, nailfold capillaroscopy and immunological tests can differentiate primary from secondary RP. Treatment involves prevention of RP so that permanent ischemic damage i.e. gangren...

The use of benzodiazepines to overcome the possible debilitating effects of travel on football performance is a recent phenomenon and indicative of current usage of such drugs. Contemporary psychological theory is critical of many of the measures used to monitor such drugs. This study has created a battery of tests which include some measures which are deemed more ecologically valid and, for pu...