Clinical ecologists report that exposure to allergens can induce cognitive and emotional symptoms as well as somatic symptoms in susceptible individuals, but controlled tests are meager. In a test of the hypothesis that sublingual exposure to allergens would produce cognitive-emotional symptoms in allergy patients, double-blind provocative testing was conducted at an allergy clinic; 30 allergy ...

BACKGROUND The role of placebos is often misunderstood, leading both to overvaluation and to inappropriate disdain. The effect of a placebo that contains no pharmacologically active substance is often confused with the effect of administration by a physician. The aim of this article is to review the current data on placebos, evaluate these data critically, and provide a well-founded and underst...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES There are few insights from sub-Saharan Africa on research participants' experiences of the informed consent process, particularly in the context of randomised controlled trials, where issues of randomisation and the use of placebos may be confusing concepts for participants. This study investigated the knowledge and perceptions of the informed consent process among in...

Hypoglycaemic agents were replaced by placebos in diabetic patients attending a hospital clinic. Of 62 patients observed, 43 (69%) relapsed within six months but blood sugar control remained unchanged in 19 (31%) during the period of observation.

We investigated the therapeutic effects of a progesterone releasing intravaginal device (PRID) on cystic ovarian disease (COD) and reproduction performance of cows. The possible influence of PRID on metabolic and/or health status was also examined. A total of 40 Holstein-Friesian cattle, with ovarian cystic structures, > or =2.5 cm in diameter, persisting for more than 7-14 days, without a corp...

BACKGROUND Unblinding effects may introduce bias into clinical trials. The use of active placebos to mimic side-effects of medication may therefore produce more rigorous evidence on the efficacy of antidepressants. METHOD Trials comparing antidepressants with active placebos were located. A standard measure of effect was calculated for each trial and weighted pooled estimates obtained. Hetero...

The duration of pneumonia and of diarrhea is reported to be longer in HIV-infected than in uninfected children. We assessed the effect of a multi-micronutrient supplement on the duration of hospitalization in HIV-infected children. In a double-blind, randomized trial, HIV-infected children (4-24 mo) who were hospitalized with diarrhea or pneumonia were enrolled (n = 118) and given a daily dose ...

The standard way to establish the scientific credentials of a medical treatment is to show that it is more effective than a placebo. With pharmaceuticals, it is relatively easy to make a suitable placebo, but with acupuncture things are not so straightforward. A variety of placebos have been used in acupuncture trials. This paper examines the implications of the choice of placebo for (1) proper...