The placebo effect

Today I read an article in the Daily Mail (link to come). Despite starting out about hypnotism, the article concluded that there may be benefit in homeopathy due to the placebo effect. I don't want to discuss homeopathy today (suffice it to say that I am not a believer), there are two ways in which I contend that this conclusion is irresponsible.

Firstly, the conclusion may encourage people to delay getting the appropriate medical advice and/or treatment. Particularly as the author of the article is listed in the byline as science editor and such position of authority only adds weight to this sort of advice.

Secondly, I find the suggestion that the placebo effect is an appropriate clinical treatment totally reprehensible. I rely on my GP to provide me with the expert medical knowledge that I don't possess myself. I ultimately make my own decisions regarding any treatment, but in doing so I rely on the advice my doctor gives me. So I don't want my doctor lying to me! For a placebo treatment to be effective, they would have to do just that. Even should no effective treatment be available (in which case a placebo treatment would be the only option), the trust would already be broken and I would never again be sure of the advice I was being given. Clearly there are more and more complex scenarios that could be debated, however neither a short blog entry, nor a newspaper article, is the place for it.

It's been a while...

... but I think it is time to dust this blog off again. And maybe this time I will get around to publicising it ;)

The current case (discussed by New Scientist here) of Simon Singh being sued by the BCA has caught my interest. I want to do more research before I make public comment, but at this stage it has me worried!