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Hösl B, Straif J, Niedermeier M, Kopp M. A study on acute expectation effects on affective state and intention after a brief full-body workout in a student sample. Appl Psychol Health Well Being 2024. [PMID: 38937915 DOI: 10.1111/aphw.12566] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2024] [Accepted: 05/31/2024] [Indexed: 06/29/2024]
Abstract
Brief exercise bouts can have positive effects on the affective state, which in turn could affect the intention for future exercise. Such benefits may be enhanced by manipulating expectations. The aim of this study was to examine whether the affective state after physical activity or the intention for future exercise can be influenced by manipulating expectations. Furthermore, the relationship between affect and intention was investigated. In an online experiment, 121 persons completed either a 10-minute workout (PA), a workout after manipulation of expectations (PA + EM), or a control intervention (CG) after randomized group allocation. Data on affective state, expectations, and intention were collected before and after the intervention using questionnaires. After intervention, PA groups showed significantly more positive values than CG in several affective parameters, in other affective parameters, only PA + EM differed from CG. Affect was positively associated with intention alongside outcome expectations. No difference was found in intention. Although no significant effects of expectation manipulation on affective state or intention were found, latent effects cannot be ruled out. Further exploration of the importance of word choice in describing physical activity in the context of interventions to increase physical activity is necessary. Here, affect should be considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benedikt Hösl
- Department of Sport Science, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Julia Straif
- Department of Psychology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Martin Niedermeier
- Department of Sport Science, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Martin Kopp
- Department of Sport Science, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
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2
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Friehs T, Milde C, Glombiewski JA, Kube T. Change in pain expectations but no open-label placebo analgesia: An experimental study using the heat pain paradigm. Eur J Pain 2024; 28:769-785. [PMID: 38108636 DOI: 10.1002/ejp.2216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2023] [Revised: 09/24/2023] [Accepted: 11/22/2023] [Indexed: 12/19/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Open-label placebos (OLP) prescribed without deception and with a convincing rationale have been shown to evoke powerful treatment effects. Patients' treatment expectations seem to influence the magnitude of the effect. OBJECTIVE We examined if two different OLP rationales increased pain tolerance and reduced pain intensity and unpleasantness in a standardized heat pain experiment. METHODS Participants (N = 71) who self-reported reoccurring pain for at least the last 3 months were randomly assigned to one of three groups. We compared a personal-emotional and a scientific-matter-of-fact rationale with a control group (CG) that received the same placebo without any rationale. The rationale suggested a desensitizing effect on pain perception and improved pain coping of the placebo, whereas in the CG it was introduced as an ointment for measurement. The primary outcomes were pre-post changes in pain tolerance, expected and experienced pain intensity and unpleasantness. RESULTS Participants showed a decrease in expected pain intensity, but not expected pain unpleasantness for both rationales. There were no differences in pain tolerance and experienced pain intensity and unpleasantness. CONCLUSIONS Our study suggests that evoking positive treatment expectations is not sufficient to elicit an OLP response. Possibly, the magnitude of expectations change in this study was not powerful enough to evoke an OLP effect. Additionally, it is possible that OLP effects in pain are unrelated to positive treatment expectations. The failure of OLP in our study is in contrast to a number of previous studies examining the effects of OLP in experimental and clinical pain. SIGNIFICANCE This study provides evidence that positive treatment expectations are not sufficient to evoke an open-label placebo effect in a standardized heat pain experiment. We showed that two different rationales improved participants treatment expectations, but failed to evoke a placebo effect in comparison to a control group that received the same placebo, labelled as an ointment to improve measurement quality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thilo Friehs
- Pain and Psychotherapy Research Lab, Department for Adult Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Kaiserslautern-Landau (RPTU), Landau, Germany
| | - Christopher Milde
- Pain and Psychotherapy Research Lab, Department for Adult Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Kaiserslautern-Landau (RPTU), Landau, Germany
| | - Julia Anna Glombiewski
- Pain and Psychotherapy Research Lab, Department for Adult Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Kaiserslautern-Landau (RPTU), Landau, Germany
| | - Tobias Kube
- Pain and Psychotherapy Research Lab, Department for Adult Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Kaiserslautern-Landau (RPTU), Landau, Germany
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3
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Saueressig T, Owen PJ, Pedder H, Tagliaferri S, Kaczorowski S, Altrichter A, Richard A, Miller CT, Donath L, Belavy DL. The importance of context (placebo effects) in conservative interventions for musculoskeletal pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Eur J Pain 2024; 28:675-704. [PMID: 38116995 DOI: 10.1002/ejp.2222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2023] [Revised: 10/04/2023] [Accepted: 11/25/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Contextual effects (e.g. patient expectations) may play a role in treatment effectiveness. This study aimed to estimate the magnitude of contextual effects for conservative, non-pharmacological interventions for musculoskeletal pain conditions. A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that compared placebo conservative non-pharmacological interventions to no treatment for musculoskeletal pain. The outcomes assessed included pain intensity, physical functioning, health-related quality of life, global rating of change, depression, anxiety and sleep at immediate, short-, medium- and/or long-term follow-up. DATABASES AND DATA TREATMENT MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Web of Science Core Collection, CENTRAL and SPORTDiscus were searched from inception to September 2021. Trial registry searches, backward and forward citation tracking and searches for prior systematic reviews were completed. The Cochrane risk of bias 2 tool was implemented. RESULTS The study included 64 RCTs (N = 4314) out of 8898 records. For pain intensity, a mean difference of (MD: -5.32, 95% confidence interval (CI): -7.20, -3.44, N = 57 studies with 74 outcomes, GRADE: very low) was estimated for placebo interventions. A small effect in favour of the placebo interventions for physical function was estimated (SMD: -0.22, 95% CI: -0.35, -0.09; N = 37 with 48 outcomes, GRADE: very low). Similar results were found for a broad range of patient-reported outcomes. Meta-regression analyses did not explain heterogeneity among analyses. CONCLUSION The study found that the contextual effect of non-pharmacological conservative interventions for musculoskeletal conditions is likely to be small. However, given the known effect sizes of recommended evidence-based treatments for musculoskeletal conditions, it may still contribute an important component. SIGNIFICANCE Contextual effects of non-pharmacological conservative interventions for musculoskeletal conditions are likely to be small for a broad range of patient-reported outcomes (pain intensity, physical function, quality of life, global rating of change and depression). Contextual effects are unlikely, in isolation, to offer much clinical care. But these factors do have relevance in an overall treatment context as they provide almost 30% of the minimally clinically important difference.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Patrick J Owen
- School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN), Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
| | - Hugo Pedder
- Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Scott Tagliaferri
- School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN), Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
| | - Svenja Kaczorowski
- Department of Applied Health Sciences, Division of Physiotherapy, Hochschule für Gesundheit (University of Applied Sciences), Bochum, Germany
| | - Adina Altrichter
- Department of Applied Health Sciences, Division of Physiotherapy, Hochschule für Gesundheit (University of Applied Sciences), Bochum, Germany
| | - Antonia Richard
- Department of Applied Health Sciences, Division of Physiotherapy, Hochschule für Gesundheit (University of Applied Sciences), Bochum, Germany
| | - Clint T Miller
- School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN), Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
| | - Lars Donath
- Department of Intervention Research in Exercise Training, German Sport University Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Daniel L Belavy
- Department of Applied Health Sciences, Division of Physiotherapy, Hochschule für Gesundheit (University of Applied Sciences), Bochum, Germany
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4
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Hohenschurz-Schmidt D, Phalip J, Chan J, Gauhe G, Soliman N, Vollert J, Lunde SJ, Vase L. Placebo analgesia in physical and psychological interventions: Systematic review and meta-analysis of three-armed trials. Eur J Pain 2024; 28:513-531. [PMID: 37985188 DOI: 10.1002/ejp.2205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2023] [Revised: 09/18/2023] [Accepted: 11/03/2023] [Indexed: 11/22/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The magnitude of placebo effects from physical and psychological 'sham' is unknown but could impact efficacy trials and treatment understanding. To quantify placebo effects, this systematic review of three-armed randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of physical and psychological interventions for pain compared outcomes in 'sham' control intervention and non-exposure arms. METHODS RCTs with treatment, 'sham' control intervention, and non-exposure groups were included, enrolling adults with any pain. A protocol was pre-registered (PROSPERO: CRD42023413324), and twelve databases searched from 2008 to July 2023. Trial methods and blinding were analysed descriptively and risk of bias assessed. Meta-analysis of pain measures at short-, medium- and long-term was performed with random-effects models of standardised mean differences (SMD).Studies were sub-grouped according to control intervention type. RESULTS Seventeen RCTs were included. The average short-term placebo effect was small (0.21 SMD, 0.1-0.33 95% CI, p = 0.0002, 1440 participants). It showed no heterogeneity (Tau2 = 0.1, I2 = 11%, p = 0.3), preventing meta-regression analyses of effect modifiers. However, sub-group analyses revealed larger placebo effects in manual control interventions compared to disabled devices and miscellaneous control interventions. Overall, placebo analgesia accounted for 39% of treatments' short-term effectiveness. No placebo effects were found at medium-term (7 RCTs, 381 participants) or long-term follow-up (3 RCTs, 173 participants). CONCLUSIONS The observed placebo analgesia has mechanistic and methodological implications, though its clinical importance may be limited. Control intervention design affects placebo effects, highlighting the importance of considering methodology in RCT interpretation. Review limitations include a small number of long-term studies and sample heterogeneity. SIGNIFICANCE This systematic review directly quantifies placebo effects from physical and psychological 'sham' control interventions and compares them to treatments' overall effectiveness. By doing so, the review enhances our understanding of placebo effects, their relative contribution in clinical trials, and their susceptibly to trial design. It poses further questions regarding the influence of blinding, participant expectations, and features of the therapeutic context. Overall, the insights provided by this review carry methodological significance and are important for the interpretation and synthesis of efficacy trials in this field.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Hohenschurz-Schmidt
- Pain Research, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, London, UK
- Research Department, University College of Osteopathy, London, UK
| | - Jules Phalip
- Institut ANALGESIA, Faculté de Médecine, Université Clermont Auvergne, Clermont-Ferrand, France
- CHU Clermont-Ferrand, Inserm 1107 Neuro-Dol, Service de pharmacologie médicale, Université Clermont Auvergne, Clermont-Ferrand, France
| | - Jessica Chan
- Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Greta Gauhe
- Centre for Dance Research, Coventry University, Coventry, UK
| | - Nadia Soliman
- Pain Research, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Jan Vollert
- Pain Research, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, London, UK
- Division of Neurological Pain Research and Therapy, Department of Neurology, University Hospital of Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel, Germany
- Department of Anaesthesiology, Intensive Care and Pain Medicine, University Hospital Muenster, Münster, Germany
- Neurophysiology, Mannheim Center of Translational Neuroscience (MCTN), Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Sigrid Juhl Lunde
- Department of Psychology and Behavioural Sciences, School of Business and Social Sciences, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Lene Vase
- Department of Psychology and Behavioural Sciences, School of Business and Social Sciences, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
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Milde C, Brinskelle LS, Glombiewski JA. Does Active Inference Provide a Comprehensive Theory of Placebo Analgesia? BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY. COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2024; 9:10-20. [PMID: 37678710 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2023.08.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2023] [Revised: 08/21/2023] [Accepted: 08/28/2023] [Indexed: 09/09/2023]
Abstract
Placebo interventions generate mismatches between expected pain and sensory signals from which pain states are inferred. Because we lack direct access to bodily states, we can only infer whether nociceptive activity indicates tissue damage or results from noise in sensory channels. Predictive processing models propose to make optimal inferences using prior knowledge given noisy sensory data. However, these models do not provide a satisfactory explanation of how pain relief expectations are translated into physiological manifestations of placebo responses. Furthermore, they do not account for individual differences in the ability to endogenously regulate nociceptive activity in predicting placebo analgesia. The brain not only passively integrates prior pain expectations with nociceptive activity to infer pain states (perceptual inference) but also initiates various types of actions to ensure that sensory data are consistent with prior pain expectations (active inference). We argue that depending on whether the brain interprets conflicting sensory data (prediction errors) as a signal to learn from or noise to be attenuated, the brain initiates opposing types of action to facilitate learning from sensory data or, conversely, to enhance the biasing influence of prior pain expectations on pain perception. Furthermore, we discuss the role of stress, anxiety, and unpredictability of pain in influencing the weighting of prior pain expectations and sensory data and how they relate to the individual ability to regulate nociceptive activity (endogenous pain modulation). Finally, we provide suggestions for future studies to test the implications of the active inference model of placebo analgesia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher Milde
- Department of Psychology, Rheinland-Pfälzische Technische Universität Kaiserslautern-Landau, Landau, Germany.
| | - Laura S Brinskelle
- Department of Psychology, Rheinland-Pfälzische Technische Universität Kaiserslautern-Landau, Landau, Germany
| | - Julia A Glombiewski
- Department of Psychology, Rheinland-Pfälzische Technische Universität Kaiserslautern-Landau, Landau, Germany
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6
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Frisaldi E, Shaibani A, Benedetti F, Pagnini F. Placebo and nocebo effects and mechanisms associated with pharmacological interventions: an umbrella review. BMJ Open 2023; 13:e077243. [PMID: 37848293 PMCID: PMC10582987 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-077243] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2023] [Accepted: 09/27/2023] [Indexed: 10/19/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES This review aimed to summarise the existing knowledge about placebo and nocebo effects associated with pharmacological interventions and their mechanisms. DESIGN Umbrella review, adopting the Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews 2 tool for critical appraisal. DATA SOURCES MEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, PsycINFO, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trial were searched in September 2022, without any time restriction, for systematic reviews, narrative reviews, original articles. Results were summarised through narrative synthesis, tables, 95% CI. OUTCOME MEASURES Mechanisms underlying placebo/nocebo effects and/or their effect sizes. RESULTS The databases search identified 372 studies, for a total of 158 312 participants, comprising 41 systematic reviews, 312 narrative reviews and 19 original articles. Seventy-three per cent of the examined systematic reviews were of high quality.Our findings revealed that mechanisms underlying placebo and/or nocebo effects have been characterised, at least in part, for: pain, non-noxious somatic sensation, Parkinson's disease, migraine, sleep disorders, intellectual disability, depression, anxiety, dementia, addiction, gynaecological disorders, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, immune and endocrine systems, cardiovascular and respiratory systems, gastrointestinal disorders, skin diseases, influenza and related vaccines, oncology, obesity, physical and cognitive performance. Their magnitude ranged from 0.08 to 2.01 (95% CI 0.37 to 0.89) for placebo effects and from 0.32 to 0.90 (95% CI 0.24 to 1.00) for nocebo effects. CONCLUSIONS This study provides a valuable tool for clinicians and researchers, identifying both results ready for clinical practice and gaps to address in the near future. FUNDING Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy with the 'Finanziamento Ponte 2022' grant. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER CRD42023392281.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Frisaldi
- Department of Neuroscience "Rita Levi Montalcini", University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Aziz Shaibani
- Muscle and Nerve Center, Houston, Texas, USA
- Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Fabrizio Benedetti
- Department of Neuroscience "Rita Levi Montalcini", University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Francesco Pagnini
- Department of Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy
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7
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Ivanec D, Stanke KM, Tomić I, Matijaš S. Dominance-submissiveness cues modulate pain threshold for mechanical pressure. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2023; 76:2371-2378. [PMID: 36420810 DOI: 10.1177/17470218221143759] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/16/2023]
Abstract
Acute pain sensation is an inherently negative but adaptive experience; however, research on pain sensitivity shows that simple contextual cues can effectively attenuate the pain. In this study, we sought to investigate how dominance cues, manipulated as vertical spatial (i.e., height) distance between participants and experimenter, affect participants' pain sensitivity. Positioning participants in a spatially higher position relative to the experimenter was aimed to induce a feeling of dominance in participants. Conversely, a feeling of submissiveness was induced by placing the experimenter in a spatially higher position. In addition, we examined the role of dominance cues with respect to participants' and experimenters' gender. Two separate studies were conducted-Study 1 with a male experimenter measuring pain threshold in female and male participants (N = 137), and Study 2 with a female experimenter conducting pain measurement in a new sample of female and male participants (N = 122). The results of both studies demonstrated that participants in a dominant position reported a higher pain threshold relative to participants in a submissive position. Male participants had a higher pain threshold in both studies; however, Study 1 revealed a significant interaction of dominance manipulation and participant's gender, with the effect of dominance cues being larger in men.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dragutin Ivanec
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Koraljka Modić Stanke
- Department of Psychology, Social Work Study Centre, Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Ivan Tomić
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Sanja Matijaš
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
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8
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Druart L, Bailly-Basin E, Dolgopoloff M, Rossettini G, Blease C, Locher C, Kubicki A, Pinsault N. Using contextual factors to elicit placebo and nocebo effects: An online survey of healthcare providers' practice. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0291079. [PMID: 37656736 PMCID: PMC10473518 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0291079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2023] [Accepted: 08/22/2023] [Indexed: 09/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Contextual factor use by healthcare professionals has been studied mainly among nurses and physiotherapists. Preliminary results show that healthcare professionals use contextual factors without specifically labelling them as such. The main objective of this study was to evaluate knowledge and explore voluntary contextual factor use among various healthcare professions. The results aim to facilitate hypothesis-generation, to better position further research to explain and characterise contextual factor use. We conducted a web-based questionnaire cross-sectional observational study on a non-probabilistic convenience sample. Face and content validity were tested through cognitive interviews. Data were analysed descriptively. The target population was the main healthcare profession, or final year students, defined by the French public health law. The countries of distribution of the questionnaire were the French-speaking European countries. Among our 1236 participants, use of contextual factors was widespread. Those relating to the therapeutic relationship (e.g., communication) and patient characteristics (e.g., past experiences) were reportedly the most used. Meanwhile, contextual factors related to the healthcare providers' characteristics and their own beliefs were reported as less used. Despite high variability, respondents suggested contextual effects contribute to approximately half of the overall effect in healthcare and were perceived as more effective on children and elderly adults. Conceptual variations that exist in the literature are also present in the way healthcare providers consider contextual effects. Interestingly, there seems to be common ground between how physiotherapists, nurses and physicians use different contextual factors. Finally, in the present study we also observed that while there are similarities across usage, there is lack of both an epistemological and ethical consensus among healthcare providers with respect to contextual factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leo Druart
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, VetAgro Sup, Grenoble INP, Grenoble, France
- Department of Physiotherapy University Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France
| | - Emilie Bailly-Basin
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, VetAgro Sup, Grenoble INP, Grenoble, France
- Department of Rehabilitation, Franche-Comté University, Montbéliard, France
| | - Maïa Dolgopoloff
- Department of Physiotherapy University Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France
| | | | - Charlotte Blease
- Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center,Digital Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States of America
| | - Cosima Locher
- Department of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry and Psychosomatic Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Switzerland
- Faculty of Health, University of Plymouth, United Kingdom
| | - Alexandre Kubicki
- Department of Rehabilitation, Franche-Comté University, Montbéliard, France
- Laboratoire de neurosciences intégratives, Besançon, France
| | - Nicolas Pinsault
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, VetAgro Sup, Grenoble INP, Grenoble, France
- Department of Physiotherapy University Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France
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Rossettini G, Campaci F, Bialosky J, Huysmans E, Vase L, Carlino E. The Biology of Placebo and Nocebo Effects on Experimental and Chronic Pain: State of the Art. J Clin Med 2023; 12:4113. [PMID: 37373806 DOI: 10.3390/jcm12124113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2023] [Revised: 06/13/2023] [Accepted: 06/15/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
(1) Background: In recent years, placebo and nocebo effects have been extensively documented in different medical conditions, including pain. The scientific literature has provided strong evidence of how the psychosocial context accompanying the treatment administration can influence the therapeutic outcome positively (placebo effects) or negatively (nocebo effects). (2) Methods: This state-of-the-art paper aims to provide an updated overview of placebo and nocebo effects on pain. (3) Results: The most common study designs, the psychological mechanisms, and neurobiological/genetic determinants of these phenomena are discussed, focusing on the differences between positive and negative context effects on pain in experimental settings on healthy volunteers and in clinical settings on chronic pain patients. Finally, the last section describes the implications for clinical and research practice to maximize the medical and scientific routine and correctly interpret the results of research studies on placebo and nocebo effects. (4) Conclusions: While studies on healthy participants seem consistent and provide a clear picture of how the brain reacts to the context, there are no unique results of the occurrence and magnitude of placebo and nocebo effects in chronic pain patients, mainly due to the heterogeneity of pain. This opens up the need for future studies on the topic.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Francesco Campaci
- Department of Neuroscience "Rita Levi Montalcini", University of Turin, 10124 Turin, Italy
| | - Joel Bialosky
- Department of Physical Therapy, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
- Clinical Research Center, Brooks Rehabilitation, Jacksonville, FL 32211, USA
| | - Eva Huysmans
- Pain in Motion Research Group (PAIN), Department of Physiotherapy, Human Physiology and Anatomy, Faculty of Physical Education & Physiotherapy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Laarbeeklaan 103, 1090 Brussels, Belgium
- Department of Physical Medicine and Physiotherapy, Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel, Laarbeeklaan 101, 1090 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Lene Vase
- Department of Psychology and Behavioural Sciences, School of Business and Social Sciences, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Elisa Carlino
- Department of Neuroscience "Rita Levi Montalcini", University of Turin, 10124 Turin, Italy
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Blythe JS, Thomaidou MA, Peerdeman KJ, van Laarhoven AI, van Schothorst MM, Veldhuijzen DS, Evers AW. Placebo effects on cutaneous pain and itch: a systematic review and meta-analysis of experimental results and methodology. Pain 2023; 164:1181-1199. [PMID: 36718994 PMCID: PMC10184563 DOI: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000002820] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2022] [Revised: 09/14/2022] [Accepted: 10/20/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
ABSTRACT Placebo effects, positive treatment outcomes that go beyond treatment processes, can alter sensations through learning mechanisms. Understanding how methodological factors contribute to the magnitude of placebo effects will help define the mechanisms by which these effects occur. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of experimental placebo studies in cutaneous pain and itch in healthy samples, focused on how differences in methodology contribute to the resulting placebo effect magnitude. We conducted meta-analyses by learning mechanism and sensation, namely, for classical conditioning with verbal suggestion, verbal suggestion alone, and observational learning, separately for pain and itch. We conducted subgroup analyses and meta-regression on the type of sensory stimuli, placebo treatment, number of acquisition and evocation trials, differences in calibrated intensities for placebo and control stimuli during acquisition, age, and sex. We replicated findings showing that a combination of classical conditioning with verbal suggestion induced larger placebo effects on pain ( k = 68, g = 0 . 59) than verbal suggestion alone ( k = 39, g = 0.38) and found a smaller effect for itch with verbal suggestion alone ( k = 7, g = 0.14). Using sham electrodes as placebo treatments corresponded with larger placebo effects on pain than when topical gels were used. Other methodological and demographic factors did not significantly affect placebo magnitudes. Placebo effects on pain and itch reliably occur in experimental settings with varied methods, and conditioning with verbal suggestion produced the strongest effects. Although methods may shape the placebo effect to some extent, these effects appear robust overall, and their underlying learning mechanisms may be harnessed for applications outside the laboratory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph S. Blythe
- Health, Medical and Neuropsychology Unit, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Mia A. Thomaidou
- Health, Medical and Neuropsychology Unit, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Kaya J. Peerdeman
- Health, Medical and Neuropsychology Unit, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Antoinette I.M. van Laarhoven
- Health, Medical and Neuropsychology Unit, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, the Netherlands
- Department of Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | | | - Dieuwke S. Veldhuijzen
- Health, Medical and Neuropsychology Unit, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Andrea W.M. Evers
- Health, Medical and Neuropsychology Unit, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, the Netherlands
- Medical Delta Healthy Society, Leiden University, Technical University Delft, and Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
- Department of Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, the Netherlands
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11
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Hohenschurz-Schmidt D, Draper-Rodi J, Vase L, Scott W, McGregor A, Soliman N, MacMillan A, Olivier A, Cherian CA, Corcoran D, Abbey H, Freigang S, Chan J, Phalip J, Sørensen LN, Delafin M, Baptista M, Medforth NR, Ruffini N, Andresen SS, Ytier S, Ali D, Hobday H, Ngurah Agung Adhiyoga Santosa AA, Vollert J, Rice AS. Blinding and sham control methods in trials of physical, psychological, and self-management interventions for pain (article II): a meta-analysis relating methods to trial results. Pain 2023; 164:509-533. [PMID: 36271798 PMCID: PMC9916063 DOI: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000002730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2021] [Revised: 05/16/2022] [Accepted: 06/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
ABSTRACT Sham interventions in randomized clinical trials (RCTs) of physical, psychological, and self-management (PPS) therapies for pain are highly variable in design and believed to contribute to poor internal validity. However, it has not been formally tested whether the extent to which sham controls resemble the treatment under investigation consistently affects trial outcomes, such as effect sizes, differential attrition, participant expectancy, and blinding effectiveness. Placebo- or sham-controlled RCTs of PPS interventions of clinical pain populations were searched in 12 databases. The similarity of control interventions to the experimental treatment was rated across 25 features. Meta-regression analyses assessed putative links between employed control interventions, observed effect sizes in pain-related outcomes, attrition, and blinding success. The sample included 198 unique control interventions, dominated by manual therapy and chronic musculoskeletal pain research. Meta-analyses indicated small-to-moderate benefits of active treatments over control interventions, across subgroups of manual therapies, exercise, and rehabilitation, and psychological intervention trials. Multiple meta-regression modelling demonstrated that similarity between sham control and tested interventions predicted variability in pain-related outcomes, attrition, and blinding effectiveness. Influential variables were differences relating to the extent of intervention exposure, participant experience, and treatment environments. The results support the supposed link between blinding methods and effect sizes, based on a large and systematically sourced overview of methods. However, challenges to effective blinding are complex and often difficult to discern from trial reports. Nonetheless, these insights have the potential to change trial design, conduct, and reporting and will inform guideline development.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Hohenschurz-Schmidt
- Pain Research, Department Surgery & Cancer, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College, London, United Kingdom
| | - Jerry Draper-Rodi
- Research Centre, University College of Osteopathy, London, United Kingdom
| | - Lene Vase
- Department of Psychology and Behavioural Sciences, Section for Psychology and Neuroscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Whitney Scott
- Health Psychology Section, Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
- INPUT Pain Management Unit, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom
| | - Alison McGregor
- Human Performance Group, Department Surgery & Cancer, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College, London, United Kingdom
| | - Nadia Soliman
- Pain Research, Department Surgery & Cancer, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College, London, United Kingdom
| | - Andrew MacMillan
- Research Centre, University College of Osteopathy, London, United Kingdom
| | - Axel Olivier
- Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Cybill Ann Cherian
- Chemical Engineering Department, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | | | - Hilary Abbey
- Research Centre, University College of Osteopathy, London, United Kingdom
| | - Sascha Freigang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Medical University Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Jessica Chan
- Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | | | - Lea Nørgaard Sørensen
- Department of Occupational Medicine, Danish Ramazzini Centre, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Maite Delafin
- The Penn Clinic, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, United Kingdom
| | - Margarida Baptista
- Wolfson Centre for Age Related Diseases, Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | | | - Nuria Ruffini
- National Centre Germany, Foundation C.O.M.E. Collaboration, Berlin, Germany
| | | | | | - Dorota Ali
- Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Harriet Hobday
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | | | - Jan Vollert
- Pain Research, Department Surgery & Cancer, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College, London, United Kingdom
- Division of Neurological Pain Research and Therapy, Department of Neurology, University Hospital of Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Kiel, Germany
- Department of Anaesthesiology, Intensive Care and Pain Medicine, University Hospital Muenster, Münster,Germany
- Neurophysiology, Mannheim Center of Translational Neuroscience (MCTN), Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Andrew S.C. Rice
- Pain Research, Department Surgery & Cancer, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College, London, United Kingdom
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12
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Asquini G, Devecchi V, Borromeo G, Viscuso D, Morato F, Locatelli M, Falla D. Predictors of pain reduction following a program of manual therapies for patients with temporomandibular disorders: A prospective observational study. Musculoskelet Sci Pract 2022; 62:102634. [PMID: 35939919 DOI: 10.1016/j.msksp.2022.102634] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2022] [Revised: 07/04/2022] [Accepted: 07/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Clinical guidelines recommend conservative treatment for the management of temporomandibular disorders (TMD), and manual therapy (MT) is commonly applied to reduce pain and improve function. OBJECTIVES To identify predictors of pain reduction and functional improvement following a program of manual therapies (MTP) in patients with TMD and develop a first screening tool that could be used in clinical practice to facilitate decision-making. DESIGN A cohort of 102 adults with a diagnosis of TMD were treated with four weekly sessions within a MTP applied to craniomandibular structures. Candidate predictors were demographic variables, general health variables, psychosocial features, TMD characteristics and related clinical tests. A reduction of pain intensity by at least 30% after the MTP was considered a good outcome. Logistic regression was adopted to develop the predictive model and its performance was assessed considering the explained variance, calibration, and discrimination. Internal validation of the prediction models was further evaluated in 500 bootstrapped samples. RESULTS Patients experiencing pain intensity greater than 2/10 during mouth opening, positive expectations of outcome following a MTP, pain localized in the craniocervical region, and a low Central Sensitization Inventory score obtained a good outcome following the MTP. Predictive performance of the identified physical and psychological variables was characterized by high explained variance (R2 = 58%) and discrimination (AUC = 89%) after internal validation. A preliminary screening clinical tool was developed and presented as a nomogram. CONCLUSIONS The high discrimination of the prediction model revealed promising findings, although these need to be externally validated in future research. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER NCT03990662.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giacomo Asquini
- Centre of Precision Rehabilitation for Spinal Pain (CPR Spine), School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK; Italian Stomatologic Institute, Craniomandibular Physiotherapy Service, Via Pace 21, 20122, Milan, Italy
| | - Valter Devecchi
- Centre of Precision Rehabilitation for Spinal Pain (CPR Spine), School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK
| | - Giulia Borromeo
- Italian Stomatologic Institute, Craniomandibular Physiotherapy Service, Via Pace 21, 20122, Milan, Italy
| | - Domenico Viscuso
- Italian Stomatologic Institute, Craniomandibular Physiotherapy Service, Via Pace 21, 20122, Milan, Italy; University of Cagliari, Department of Surgical Sciences, Dental Service, Via Università 40 Cagliari, Italy
| | - Federico Morato
- Italian Stomatologic Institute, Craniomandibular Physiotherapy Service, Via Pace 21, 20122, Milan, Italy
| | - Matteo Locatelli
- IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Via Olgettina Milano 60, 20132, Milano, Italy
| | - Deborah Falla
- Centre of Precision Rehabilitation for Spinal Pain (CPR Spine), School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK.
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13
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Zunhammer M, Goltz G, Schweifel M, Stuck BA, Bingel U. Savor the flavor: A randomized double-blind study assessing taste-enhanced placebo analgesia in healthy volunteers. Clin Transl Sci 2022; 15:2709-2719. [PMID: 36088659 PMCID: PMC9652436 DOI: 10.1111/cts.13397] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2022] [Revised: 07/01/2022] [Accepted: 08/06/2022] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Placebo effects substantially contribute to analgesic treatment outcomes and might be leveraged to enhance gold-standard treatments. The taste of oral medications has been proposed to boost placebo effects. Here, we aimed at estimating how far the taste of an oral medication enhances placebo analgesia. We conducted a randomized, double-blind, between-group, single-visit study, with pre-treatment baseline. Over the course of three substudies, 318 healthy volunteers (297 included) were tested in a clinical trial setting. Participants were subjected to experimental tonic cold water pain (cold pressor test) before and after receiving taste-neutral (water), or bitter (quinine), or sweet (saccharin), or no placebo drops. Pre- versus post-treatment changes in area under the pain rating curve, the main outcome, indicated that placebo treatment showed a small analgesic effect versus no treatment. Added taste induced placebo enhancement in the very small effect size range, but accounted for a substantial portion of the overall placebo effect. No noteworthy advantage of sweet over bitter placebo was observed. An exploration of heart rate (HR) recordings indicated that placebo treatments were associated with an increase in peak HR-response to cold water, but these were not associated with placebo analgesia at an individual level. Placebo treatments were associated with minimal side effects. These results indicate that added taste may be an easy-to-implement, cost-effective, and safe way to optimize treatment outcomes and that taste-neutral preparations may reduce placebo-related outcome variance in clinical trials. Further studies are needed to test if these findings can be translated into clinical scenarios.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthias Zunhammer
- Department of Neurology, Center for Translational Neuro‐ and Behavioral Sciences (C‐TNBS)University Hospital EssenEssenGermany
| | - Gerrit Goltz
- Department of Neurology, Center for Translational Neuro‐ and Behavioral Sciences (C‐TNBS)University Hospital EssenEssenGermany
| | - Maximilian Schweifel
- Department of Neurology, Center for Translational Neuro‐ and Behavioral Sciences (C‐TNBS)University Hospital EssenEssenGermany
| | - Boris A. Stuck
- Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital MarburgPhilipps‐Universität MarburgMarburgGermany
| | - Ulrike Bingel
- Department of Neurology, Center for Translational Neuro‐ and Behavioral Sciences (C‐TNBS)University Hospital EssenEssenGermany
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14
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Meijer S, van Middendorp H, Peerdeman KJ, Evers AWM. Counterconditioning as Treatment to Reduce Nocebo Effects in Persistent Physical Symptoms: Treatment Protocol and Study Design. Front Psychol 2022; 13:806409. [PMID: 35774946 PMCID: PMC9237388 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.806409] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2021] [Accepted: 05/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Persistent physical symptoms have a high prevalence and a large impact for patients and society. To date, treatment effects for these symptoms are often limited. Nocebo effects (i.e., negative outcomes that are not attributable to active treatment components) have a substantial influence on treatment success and can be established via learning through classical conditioning. Therefore, interventions aimed at reducing nocebo effects by means of counterconditioning, in which an alternative association (inhibiting the previous association) is learned, could be a promising method for improving physical symptoms. In experimental studies, counterconditioning has been shown promising in reducing experimentally-induced nocebo effects on pain and itch. Application of counterconditioning procedures to reduce nocebo effects on clinical symptoms has yet to be researched. This paper provides a protocol of a 6-week counterconditioning intervention aimed at reducing nocebo effects and clinical pain in patients with fibromyalgia. A study in patients with fibromyalgia is proposed to examine the feasibility and potential effectiveness of this counterconditioning intervention as a novel treatment method for reducing nocebo effects and generalization to clinical pain symptoms. Results can help design an optimized treatment protocol for reducing nocebo effects, based on the experiences of participants and the first indications of treatment efficacy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone Meijer
- Health, Medical and Neuropsychology Unit, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, Netherlands
- *Correspondence: Simone Meijer,
| | - Henriët van Middendorp
- Health, Medical and Neuropsychology Unit, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Kaya J. Peerdeman
- Health, Medical and Neuropsychology Unit, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Andrea W. M. Evers
- Health, Medical and Neuropsychology Unit, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, Netherlands
- Department of Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands
- Medical Delta Healthy Society, Leiden University, Technical University Delft, & Erasmus University Rotterdam, Leiden, Netherlands
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15
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Sun YL, Yao M, Zhu YF, Yin MC, Liu JT, Chen X, Huang J, Dai YX, Wang WH, Ma ZB, Wang YJ, Cui XJ. Consideration in Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial on Neck Pain to Avoid the Placebo Effect in Analgesic Action. Front Pharmacol 2022; 13:836008. [PMID: 35662695 PMCID: PMC9160467 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2022.836008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2021] [Accepted: 04/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: In neck pain treatment, many therapies are focused on etiology, while it is well-known that placebo analgesia is also present in these therapies. The specific efficacy for etiology may be underestimated by ignoring their actual placebo effect. In this study, a logistic regression analysis is used to explore the risk factors causing different placebo responses in patients with neck pain among two RCTs. The probability of the placebo effect is predicted based on these risk factors. Methods: Trial A and Trial B were similarly designed, randomized, double-/single-blind, placebo-controlled trials in patients treating neck pain with Qishe pill or Shi-style manipulation. Both studies set a placebo pill twice a day or traction for every other day as control. For further analyses on the placebo effect in neck pain management, logistic regression was used to assess subgroup-placebo interactions. The odds ratio assessed a significant influence on the placebo effect. Results: In this pooled analysis, the total number of patients recruited for these two studies was 284, of which 162 patients received placebo treatment (placebo drug or traction for every other day). No statistically significant differences are found at baseline between the participants with placebo effect and non-placebo effect in the gender, age, and disease duration except in VAS and NDI at the initial time. There are numerically more patients with placebo effect in the shorter disease duration subgroup (< 4 months [76%]), higher initial VAS subgroup (>60 mm [90%]), and worse initial NDI subgroup (>24 [72%]) compared with the gender and age subgroup. An ROC curve is established to assess the model-data fit, which shows an area under the curve of 0.755 and a 95% confidence interval of 0.677–0.830. Participants who show placebo effect after 2 weeks have significantly lower VAS scores after 4 weeks, while there is no significant difference in NDI improvement between the two groups after 4 weeks. Conclusion: Neck pain patients with shorter disease duration are more likely to overscore their pain severity, because of their less experience in pain perception, tolerance, and analgesia expectation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yue-Li Sun
- Longhua Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
- Spine Institute, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
- Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education of Chronic Musculoskeletal Disease, Shanghai, China
| | - Min Yao
- Longhua Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
- Spine Institute, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
- Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education of Chronic Musculoskeletal Disease, Shanghai, China
| | - Yue-Feng Zhu
- Spine Institute, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
- Huadong Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
- Institutes of Integrative Medicine, Fudan University Institute of Geriatrics and Gerontology, Shanghai, China
| | - Meng-Chen Yin
- Longhua Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
- Spine Institute, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
- Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education of Chronic Musculoskeletal Disease, Shanghai, China
| | - Jin-Tao Liu
- Suzhou TCM Hospital, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Suzhou, China
| | - Xin Chen
- Gansu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Lanzhou, China
- Affiliated Hospital of Gansu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Lanzhou, China
| | - Jin Huang
- Gansu Provincial Hospital of TCM, Lanzhou, China
| | - Yu-Xiang Dai
- Longhua Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
- Spine Institute, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
- Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education of Chronic Musculoskeletal Disease, Shanghai, China
- Suzhou TCM Hospital, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Suzhou, China
| | - Wen-Hao Wang
- Huadong Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
- Institutes of Integrative Medicine, Fudan University Institute of Geriatrics and Gerontology, Shanghai, China
| | - Zeng-Bin Ma
- Spine Institute, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
- Beijing Hospital, Lanzhou, China
| | - Yong-Jun Wang
- Longhua Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
- Spine Institute, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
- Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education of Chronic Musculoskeletal Disease, Shanghai, China
- *Correspondence: Yong-Jun Wang, ; Xue-Jun Cui,
| | - Xue-Jun Cui
- Longhua Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
- Spine Institute, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
- Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education of Chronic Musculoskeletal Disease, Shanghai, China
- *Correspondence: Yong-Jun Wang, ; Xue-Jun Cui,
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16
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De Ridder D, Vanneste S, Smith M, Adhia D. Pain and the Triple Network Model. Front Neurol 2022; 13:757241. [PMID: 35321511 PMCID: PMC8934778 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2022.757241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2021] [Accepted: 01/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Acute pain is a physiological response that causes an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience in the presence of actual or potential tissue injury. Anatomically and symptomatically, chronic pathological pain can be divided into three distinct but interconnected pathways, a lateral “painfulness” pathway, a medial “suffering” pathway and a descending pain inhibitory circuit. Pain (fullness) can exist without suffering and suffering can exist without pain (fullness). The triple network model is offering a generic unifying framework that may be used to understand a variety of neuropsychiatric illnesses. It claims that brain disorders are caused by aberrant interactions within and between three cardinal brain networks: the self-representational default mode network, the behavioral relevance encoding salience network and the goal oriented central executive network. A painful stimulus usually leads to a negative cognitive, emotional, and autonomic response, phenomenologically expressed as pain related suffering, processed by the medial pathway. This anatomically overlaps with the salience network, which encodes behavioral relevance of the painful stimuli and the central sympathetic control network. When pain lasts longer than the healing time and becomes chronic, the pain- associated somatosensory cortex activity may become functionally connected to the self-representational default mode network, i.e., it becomes an intrinsic part of the self-percept. This is most likely an evolutionary adaptation to save energy, by separating pain from sympathetic energy-consuming action. By interacting with the frontoparietal central executive network, this can eventually lead to functional impairment. In conclusion, the three well-known pain pathways can be combined into the triple network model explaining the whole range of pain related co-morbidities. This paves the path for the creation of new customized and personalized treatment methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dirk De Ridder
- Section of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgical Sciences, Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
- *Correspondence: Dirk De Ridder
| | - Sven Vanneste
- School of Psychology, Global Brain Health Institute, Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Mark Smith
- Neurofeedbackservices of New York, New York, NY, United States
| | - Divya Adhia
- Section of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgical Sciences, Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
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17
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Zeng D, Yan X, Deng H, Li J, Xiao J, Yuan J, Huang J, Xu N, Fu W, Jianhua L. Placebo response vary between different types of sham acupuncture: A randomized double-blind trial in neck pain patients. Eur J Pain 2022; 26:1006-1020. [PMID: 35129852 PMCID: PMC9305463 DOI: 10.1002/ejp.1924] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2021] [Revised: 08/31/2021] [Accepted: 02/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Background In prospective experimental studies of neck pain patients, it is difficult to determine whether responses to sham acupuncture differ from responses to real acupuncture due to the heterogeneous methodologies in control/sham interventions. Here we aim to compare the specific and nonspecific effects of electroacupuncture with four types of sham acupuncture. Methods In this double‐blind, sham‐controlled study, we randomly assigned 175 patients with neck pain to receive 10 sessions of electroacupuncture, shallow puncture, nonacupoint deep puncture, nonacupoint shallow puncture, or nonpenetration acupuncture. We used the Northwick Park Neck Pain Questionnaire (NPQ) as our primary outcome, and Short‐form McGill Pain Questionnaire, visual analog scale (VAS), and Pain Threshold as secondary outcomes to measure the changes from baseline to a 3‐month follow up. Results All groups, except nonacupoint shallow puncture, had significant improvement in all outcome measurements. Electroacupuncture only showed superior improvements than the shallow puncture, nonacupoint shallow puncture, and nonpenetration groups when compared using the NPQ and VAS scale (*p < 0.001). Interestingly, the nonacupoint shallow puncture produced even less placebo response than nonpenetration acupuncture. Conclusion Our study demonstrates the high variability of placebo response among different types of sham controls depending on the depth of needle insertion and the puncture location. An important implication of our results is nonacupoint deep puncture produced similar analgesic effects as electroacupuncture. Our study may shed a new light on the predominant underlying mechanisms among different types of sham acupuncture controls, which can help with interpreting the effect of acupuncture in other studies. Trial registration Chinese clinical trial registry (ChiCTR‐IOR‐15006886). Significance This study compared the observed specific and nonspecific analgesia effect in four different types of sham acupuncture stimulation with neck pain patients, assessed by four outcomes. Although all of the sham controls produced significant reduction in neck pain, electroacupuncture had superior significant improvement. Importantly, placebo responses differed significantly between the sham controls and responses were inconsistent according to different outcome assessments. This study emphasizes the importance of taking into consideration which sham control and method of outcome measurement were used in a pain research study when evaluating its results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dian Zeng
- Acupuncture Research Team, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiaoxia Yan
- Acupuncture Research Team, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Hongmei Deng
- Acupuncture Research Team, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jiemei Li
- Acupuncture Research Team, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jiaxin Xiao
- Acupuncture Research Team, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jiawei Yuan
- Acupuncture Research Team, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jianpeng Huang
- Acupuncture Research Team, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Nenggui Xu
- South China Research Center for Acupuncture, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Wenbin Fu
- Acupuncture Research Team, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Liu Jianhua
- Acupuncture Research Team, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
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18
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Schmidt K, Berding T, Kleine-Borgmann J, Engler H, Holle-Lee D, Gaul C, Bingel U. The beneficial effect of positive treatment expectations on pharmacological migraine prophylaxis. Pain 2022; 163:e319-e327. [PMID: 34010939 DOI: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000002341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2021] [Accepted: 05/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
ABSTRACT Migraine is one of the leading causes of years lived with disability and considered to be a major global health concern. Pharmacological preventive treatment often causes side effects that limit the adherence to longer-term treatment regimens. Both experimental and clinical evidence suggests that positive expectations can modulate pain and analgesic treatment effects. However, the role of expectations in migraine prophylactic treatment has not systematically been investigated. Here, we examined the influence of treatment expectation before commencing pharmacological preventive treatment on its efficacy and tolerability in N = 134 episodic (30%) and chronic migraine (70%) patients in a prospective, longitudinal observational study over the course of 6 months. The migraine prophylaxis reduced the number of headache and migraine days with acceptable tolerability. Positive treatment expectation was associated with a generally lower number of headache and migraine days and a stronger reduction in headache days over the course of the treatment in chronic but not in episodic migraine patients. Moreover, patients with prior treatment showed a stronger reduction in headache days with higher expectation as compared to patients without prior experience. Our results underscore the relevance of further exploring the role of treatment expectation and its systematic modulation in patients with migraine and other pain conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katharina Schmidt
- Department of Neurology, Center for Translational Neuro- and Behavioural Sciences, University Medicine Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Tobias Berding
- Department of Neurology, Center for Translational Neuro- and Behavioural Sciences, University Medicine Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Julian Kleine-Borgmann
- Department of Neurology, Center for Translational Neuro- and Behavioural Sciences, University Medicine Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Harald Engler
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Immunobiology, Center for Translational Neuro-and Behavioural Sciences, University Medicine Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Dagny Holle-Lee
- Department of Neurology, Center for Translational Neuro- and Behavioural Sciences, University Medicine Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Charly Gaul
- Migraine and Headache Clinic Königstein, Königstein, Germany
| | - Ulrike Bingel
- Department of Neurology, Center for Translational Neuro- and Behavioural Sciences, University Medicine Essen, Essen, Germany
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19
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Cutoff criteria for the placebo response: a cluster and machine learning analysis of placebo analgesia. Sci Rep 2021; 11:19205. [PMID: 34584181 PMCID: PMC8479132 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-98874-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2021] [Accepted: 09/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Computations of placebo effects are essential in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for separating the specific effects of treatments from unspecific effects associated with the therapeutic intervention. Thus, the identification of placebo responders is important for testing the efficacy of treatments and drugs. The present study uses data from an experimental study on placebo analgesia to suggest a statistical procedure to separate placebo responders from nonresponders and suggests cutoff values for when responses to placebo treatment are large enough to be separated from reported symptom changes in a no-treatment condition. Unsupervised cluster analysis was used to classify responders and nonresponders, and logistic regression implemented in machine learning was used to obtain cutoff values for placebo analgesic responses. The results showed that placebo responders can be statistically separated from nonresponders by cluster analysis and machine learning classification, and this procedure is potentially useful in other fields for the identification of responders to a treatment.
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20
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Peerdeman KJ, Geers AL, Della Porta D, Veldhuijzen DS, Kirsch I. Underpredicting pain: an experimental investigation into the benefits and risks. Pain 2021; 162:2024-2035. [PMID: 33470747 DOI: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000002199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2020] [Accepted: 12/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
ABSTRACT Expectancies can shape pain and other experiences. Generally, experiences change in the direction of what is expected (ie, assimilation effects), as seen with placebo effects. However, in case of large expectation-experience discrepancies, experiences might change away from what is expected (ie, contrast effects). Previous research has demonstrated contrast effects on various outcomes, but not pain. We investigated the effects of strong underpredictions of pain on experienced pain intensity. In addition, we assessed related outcomes including (certainty of) expectations, fear of pain, pain unpleasantness, autonomic responses, and trust. Healthy participants (study 1: n = 81 and study 2: n = 123) received verbal suggestions that subsequent heat stimuli would be moderately or highly painful (correct prediction), mildly painful (medium underprediction; study 2 only), or nonpainful (strong underprediction). Both studies showed that participants experienced less intense pain upon strong underprediction than upon correct prediction (ie, assimilation). Expected pain, fear of pain, and pain unpleasantness were generally also lowered. However, strong underprediction simultaneously lowered certainty of expectations and trust in the experimenter. Study 2 indicated that the effects of strong underprediction vs medium underprediction generally did not differ. Moreover, study 2 provided some indications for reduced heart rate and skin conductance levels but increased skin conductance responses upon strong underprediction. In conclusion, even strong underpredictions of pain can reduce pain (ie, cause assimilation), although not significantly more than medium underpredictions. However, strong underpredictions can cause uncertainty and undermine trust. These findings suggest that healthcare providers may wish to be cautious with providing overly positive information about painful medical procedures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaya J Peerdeman
- Unit Health, Medical and Neuropsychology, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Andrew L Geers
- Department of Psychology, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, United States
| | - Delia Della Porta
- Unit Health, Medical and Neuropsychology, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Dieuwke S Veldhuijzen
- Unit Health, Medical and Neuropsychology, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Irving Kirsch
- Program in Placebo Studies, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
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21
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Sölle A, Worm M, Benedetti F, Sabine Bartholomäus T, Schwender-Groen L, Klinger R. Targeted Use of Placebo Effects Decreases Experimental Itch in Atopic Dermatitis Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Clin Pharmacol Ther 2021; 110:486-497. [PMID: 33894061 DOI: 10.1002/cpt.2276] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2021] [Accepted: 03/23/2021] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Evidence from pain research shows that the effectiveness of active pharmacological treatments can be enhanced by placebo effects. The "open drug administration" is superior to "hidden drug administration." In a randomized controlled trial, we aimed to show that the targeted use of placebo effects increases the efficacy of an antihistamine (dimetindene) infusion in participants with atopic dermatitis. We openly infused dimetindene (drug) in full sight with information (intervention group 1: OPEN-DRUG+INST), openly infused drug with an additional classical conditioning learning experience (intervention group 2: OPEN-DRUG+INST+COND) or infused drug without any information or sight (i.e., hidden administration (control group 1: HIDDEN-DRUG)). Control group 2 received a placebo infusion (saline) declared as dimetindene and also experienced the conditioning experience (PLAC+INST+COND). Itch was experimentally induced with histamine via a skin prick test. Outcome was assessed at the subjective (primary end point: experimental itch intensity, numeric rating scale), and objective level (secondary end point: wheal size, mm2 ). Experimental-induced itch intensity decreased in all groups but at different rates (P < 0.001). The groups with the open administration, whether it was dimetindene or placebo, had significantly stronger reductions in itch compared to the HIDDEN-DRUG group (OPEN-DRUG+INST+COND: P < 0.001; OPEN-DRUG+INST: P = 0.009; and PLAC+INST+COND: P < 0.001). Additional drug conditioning mediated via expectation led to a stronger reduction of itching (P = 0.001). Results on wheal size were similar (P = 0.048), however, no significant difference between the HIDDEN-DRUG group and the PLAC+INST+COND group (P = 0.967) was found. We conclude that specifically generated targeted placebo effects can significantly increase the action of a drug (dimetindene) and should be used in clinical practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ariane Sölle
- Department of Anesthesiology, Pain Medicine and Pain Psychology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Margitta Worm
- Department of Dermatology and Allergology, Allergy-Center-Charité, Charité University Medical Center Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Fabrizio Benedetti
- Neuroscience Dept, University of Turin Medical School, Turin, Italy.,Plateau Rosa Labs, Zermatt, Switzerland
| | - Theresa Sabine Bartholomäus
- Department of Dermatology and Allergology, Allergy-Center-Charité, Charité University Medical Center Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Lena Schwender-Groen
- Department of Anesthesiology, Pain Medicine and Pain Psychology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Regine Klinger
- Department of Anesthesiology, Pain Medicine and Pain Psychology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
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22
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He J, Perez DG, Le-Rademacher JL, Dodge A, Enck P, Loprinzi CL, Zahrieh D. Does the placebo effect on hot flashes depend on the placebo dose? Support Care Cancer 2021; 29:6741-6749. [PMID: 33973082 DOI: 10.1007/s00520-021-06244-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2020] [Accepted: 04/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE To investigate the presence of a placebo dose-response effect in four randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-dose hot flash clinical trials conducted at Mayo Clinic. METHODS Hot flash score, frequency, and hot flash-related distress for each placebo dose level were summarized at each time point by mean and standard deviation and changes from baseline were plotted to visualize a possible placebo dose-effect response. Furthermore, a meta-analysis was conducted for each endpoint in the highest and lowest dosage arms across the four trials. RESULTS Longitudinal plots of mean hot flash scores, frequencies, and hot flash-related distress scores in patients taking placebo in each study showed a decline in hot flash scores over time without any clinically meaningful differences between the lowest and highest dosage arms in each study. The meta-analysis for each endpoint in the highest and lowest dosage arms across the four trials revealed no clinically important differences either. CONCLUSION While the current study cannot rule out the existence of a placebo dose-response effect in multi-dose placebo-controlled trials in patients with hot flashes or other conditions, it suggests, along with the available data in the placebo literature, that, at least in well-conducted multi-dose clinical trials in which the placebo was used as control, such an effect, if it exists at all, should be very small. Therefore, pooling data from different placebo subgroups is unlikely to compromise the validity of comparisons between the combined placebo arms and each treatment arm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun He
- Biomedical Statistics and Informatics - Cancer Statistics, Mayo Clinic, MN, Rochester, USA
| | - Domingo G Perez
- Department of Medical Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
| | | | - Andrew Dodge
- Biomedical Statistics and Informatics - Kern Center HSA, Mayo Clinic, MN, Rochester, USA
| | - Paul Enck
- Department of Internal Medicine VI: Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | | | - David Zahrieh
- Biomedical Statistics and Informatics - Cancer Statistics, Mayo Clinic, MN, Rochester, USA
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23
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Camerone EM, Wiech K, Benedetti F, Carlino E, Job M, Scafoglieri A, Testa M. 'External timing' of placebo analgesia in an experimental model of sustained pain. Eur J Pain 2021; 25:1303-1315. [PMID: 33619820 DOI: 10.1002/ejp.1752] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Research on placebo analgesia commonly focuses on the impact of information about direction (i.e., increase or decrease of pain) and magnitude of the expected analgesic effect, whereas temporal aspects of expectations have received little attention so far. In a recent study, using short-lasting, low-intensity stimuli, we demonstrated that placebo analgesia onset is influenced by temporal information. Here, we investigate whether the same effect of temporal suggestions can be found in longer lasting, high-intensity pain in a Cold Pressor Test (CPT). METHODS Fifty-three healthy volunteers were allocated to one of three groups. Participants were informed that the application of an (inert-)cream would reduce pain after 5 min (P5) or 30 min (P30). The third group was informed that the cream only had hydrating properties (NE). All participants completed the CPT at baseline and 10 (Test 10) and 35 min (Test 35) following cream application. Percentage change in exposure time (pain tolerance) from baseline to Test 10 (Δ10) and to Test 35 (Δ35) and changes in heart rate (HR) during CPT were compared between the three groups. RESULTS Δ10 was greater in P5 than in NE and P30, indicating that analgesia was only present in the group that was expecting an early onset of analgesia. Δ35 was greater in P5 and P30 compared to NE, reflecting a delayed onset of analgesia in P30 and maintained analgesia in P5. HR differences between groups were not significant. CONCLUSIONS Our data suggest that 'externally timing' of placebo analgesia may be possible for prolonged types of pain. SIGNIFICANCE Research on placebo effects mainly focuses on the influence of information about direction (i.e., increase or decrease of pain) and magnitude (i.e., strong or weak) of the expected effect but ignores temporal aspects of expectations. In our study in healthy volunteers, the reported onset of placebo analgesia followed the temporal information provided. Such 'external timing' effects could not only aid the clinical use of placebo treatment (e.g., in open-label placebos) but also support the efficacy of active drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleonora Maria Camerone
- Department of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics and Maternal and Child Science (DINOGMI), University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
| | - Katja Wiech
- Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Fabrizio Benedetti
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin Medical School, Turin, Italy.,Plateau Rosà Laboratories, Plateau Rosà, Italy
| | - Elisa Carlino
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin Medical School, Turin, Italy
| | - Mirko Job
- Department of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics and Maternal and Child Science (DINOGMI), University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
| | - Aldo Scafoglieri
- Department of Physiotherapy, Human Physiology and Anatomy, Vrije Universiteit Brussels, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Marco Testa
- Department of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics and Maternal and Child Science (DINOGMI), University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
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24
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Zunhammer M, Spisák T, Wager TD, Bingel U. Meta-analysis of neural systems underlying placebo analgesia from individual participant fMRI data. Nat Commun 2021; 12:1391. [PMID: 33654105 PMCID: PMC7925520 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21179-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2020] [Accepted: 01/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The brain systems underlying placebo analgesia are insufficiently understood. Here we performed a systematic, participant-level meta-analysis of experimental functional neuroimaging studies of evoked pain under stimulus-intensity-matched placebo and control conditions, encompassing 603 healthy participants from 20 (out of 28 eligible) studies. We find that placebo vs. control treatments induce small, widespread reductions in pain-related activity, particularly in regions belonging to ventral attention (including mid-insula) and somatomotor networks (including posterior insula). Behavioral placebo analgesia correlates with reduced pain-related activity in these networks and the thalamus, habenula, mid-cingulate, and supplementary motor area. Placebo-associated activity increases occur mainly in frontoparietal regions, with high between-study heterogeneity. We conclude that placebo treatments affect pain-related activity in multiple brain areas, which may reflect changes in nociception and/or other affective and decision-making processes surrounding pain. Between-study heterogeneity suggests that placebo analgesia is a multi-faceted phenomenon involving multiple cerebral mechanisms that differ across studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthias Zunhammer
- Center for Translational Neuro- and Behavioral Sciences, Dept. of Neurology, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Tamás Spisák
- Center for Translational Neuro- and Behavioral Sciences, Dept. of Neurology, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Tor D Wager
- Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA.
| | - Ulrike Bingel
- Center for Translational Neuro- and Behavioral Sciences, Dept. of Neurology, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany.
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25
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Doleman B, Mathiesen O, Jakobsen JC, Sutton AJ, Freeman S, Lund JN, Williams JP. Methodologies for systematic reviews with meta-analysis of randomised clinical trials in pain, anaesthesia, and perioperative medicine. Br J Anaesth 2021; 126:903-911. [PMID: 33558052 DOI: 10.1016/j.bja.2021.01.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2020] [Revised: 12/16/2020] [Accepted: 01/07/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses (SRMAs) are increasing in popularity, but should they be used to inform clinical decision-making in anaesthesia? We present evidence that the certainty of evidence from SRMAs in anaesthesia (and in general) may be unacceptably low because of risks of bias exaggerating treatment effects, unexplained heterogeneity reducing certainty in estimates, random errors, and widespread prevalence of publication bias. We also present the latest methodological advances to help improve the certainty of evidence from SRMAs. The target audience includes both review authors and practising clinicians to help with SRMA appraisal. Issues discussed include minimising risks of bias from included trials, trial sequential analysis to reduce random error, updated methods for presenting effect estimates, and novel publication bias tests for commonly used outcome measures. These methods can help to reduce spurious conclusions on clinical significance, explain statistical heterogeneity, and reduce false positives when evaluating small-study effects. By reducing concerns in these domains of Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation, it should help improve the certainty of evidence from SRMAs used for decision-making in anaesthesia, pain, and perioperative medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brett Doleman
- Department of Anaesthesia and Surgery, Graduate Entry Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
| | - Ole Mathiesen
- Department of Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Department of Anaesthesia, Zealand University Hospital, Køge, Denmark
| | - Janus C Jakobsen
- Copenhagen Trial Unit, Copenhagen, Denmark; Department of Regional Health Research, Faculty of Heath Sciences, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Alex J Sutton
- Department of Health Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
| | - Suzanne Freeman
- Department of Health Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
| | - Jonathan N Lund
- Department of Anaesthesia and Surgery, Graduate Entry Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| | - John P Williams
- Department of Anaesthesia and Surgery, Graduate Entry Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
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26
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Frangos E, Čeko M, Wang B, Richards EA, Gracely JL, Colloca L, Schweinhardt P, Bushnell MC. Neural effects of placebo analgesia in fibromyalgia patients and healthy individuals. Pain 2021; 162:641-652. [PMID: 32925593 PMCID: PMC7808362 DOI: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000002064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2020] [Accepted: 08/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
ABSTRACT Placebo analgesia is hypothesized to involve top-down engagement of prefrontal regions that access endogenous pain inhibiting opioid pathways. Fibromyalgia (FM) patients have neuroanatomical and neurochemical alterations in pathways relevant to placebo analgesia. Thus, it remains unclear whether placebo analgesic mechanisms would differ in FM patients compared to healthy controls (HCs). Here, using placebo-analgesia-inducing paradigms that included verbal suggestions and conditioning manipulations, we examined whether behavioral and neural placebo analgesic responses differed between 32 FM patients and 46 age- and sex-matched HCs. Participants underwent a manipulation scan, where noxious high and low heat were paired with the control and placebo cream, respectively, and a placebo experimental scan with equal noxious heat temperatures. Before the experimental scan, each participant received saline or naloxone, an opioid receptor antagonist. Across all participants, the placebo condition decreased pain intensity and unpleasantness ratings, decreased activity within the right insula and bilateral secondary somatosensory cortex, and modulated the neurologic pain signature. There were no differences between HCs and FM patients in pain intensity ratings or neural responses during the placebo condition. Despite the perceptual and neural effects of the placebo manipulation, prefrontal circuitry was not activated during the expectation period and the placebo analgesia was unaltered by naloxone, suggesting placebo effects were driven more by conditioning than expectation. Together, these findings suggest that placebo analgesia can occur in both HCs and chronic pain FM patients, without the involvement of opioidergic prefrontal modulatory networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleni Frangos
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Marta Čeko
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
- Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, United States
| | - Binquan Wang
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Emily A. Richards
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - John L. Gracely
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Luana Colloca
- Department of Pain Translational Symptom Science, School of Nursing, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MA, United States
- Department of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MA, United States
| | - Petra Schweinhardt
- The Alan Edwards Centre for Research on Pain, Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Department of Chiropractic Medicine, Balgrist University Hospital and University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - M. Catherine Bushnell
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
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27
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Anderson CC, Ray CA, Butler MR, Darken RS. Effects of Procedural Discomfort and Expectation of Benefit on Therapy Continuation in Chronic Migraine Patients Treated With OnabotulinumtoxinA. Headache 2020; 60:2357-2363. [DOI: 10.1111/head.14008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2020] [Revised: 10/05/2020] [Accepted: 10/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Christopher A. Ray
- Department of Neurology Washington University School of Medicine St. Louis MO USA
| | - Michael R. Butler
- Department of Neurology Washington University School of Medicine St. Louis MO USA
| | - Rachel S. Darken
- Department of Neurology Washington University School of Medicine St. Louis MO USA
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28
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Vase L. Can insights from placebo and nocebo mechanisms studies improve the randomized controlled trial? Scand J Pain 2020; 20:451-467. [PMID: 32609651 DOI: 10.1515/sjpain-2019-0183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2019] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Background and aims The randomized controlled trial (RCT) is currently facing several challenges, one of these being that the placebo response appears to be increasing in RCTs, thereby making it difficult to demonstrate an effect of potentially new treatments over placebo. This problem has primarily been approached by predicting the magnitude of the placebo response via stable factors, such as demographic variables, and/or by developing complex designs aimed at reducing the placebo response in the hope that it will improve the test of the active treatment. Yet, the success of this approach has so far been limited. Methods A new approach toward improving the RCT is put forward based on placebo and nocebo mechanism studies, i.e. studies that investigate the mechanisms underlying placebo analgesia and nocebo hyperalgesia. In a series of meta-analyses the magnitude of placebo and nocebo effects were determined. Experimental studies across nociplastic and neuropathic pain conditions and across pharmacological and acupuncture treatments investigated psychological and neurobiological mechanisms underlying these effects. The obtained results were used to make approximations of expectations to see if that could predict the placebo response in RCTs and function as a new way of tapping into the placebo component of treatment effects. Results The magnitude of placebo and nocebo effects is large and highly variable. Placebo effects exist across chronic pain conditions with varying degrees of known etiology as well as across pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments. Patients' perception of the treatment, the verbal suggestions given for pain relief, and the patients' expectations toward pain relief contribute to the magnitude of the placebo effect and to pain relief following placebo interventions. Also, unintentional unblinding and patients' perception of a treatment markedly influence the treatment outcome. By making approximations of expectations toward treatment effects it was possible to predict the magnitude of the placebo response in RCTs. Conclusions and implications The new approach of tapping into or directly asking patients about their perception and expectations toward a treatment, along with the account of the natural history of pain, has the potential to improve the information that can be obtained from RCTs. Thus, by interfacing insights from placebo and nocebo mechanism studies, it may be possible to enhance the information that can be obtained from RCTs and to account for a large part of the variability in the placebo component of the overall treatment effect. This approach has the potential to improve the scientific evaluation of treatments, as well as to illustrate how the effect of treatments can be optimized in clinical practice, which is the crux of evidence-based medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lene Vase
- Department of Psychology and Behavioural Sciences, Aarhus University, Bartholins Allé 11, Building 1350, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
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29
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Nestoriuc Y, Kleine-Borgmann J. [Appearances are not deceptive: clinical evidence and new research approaches to open-label placebo]. DER NERVENARZT 2020; 91:708-713. [PMID: 32691079 DOI: 10.1007/s00115-020-00953-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
The efficacy of placebo effects is proven in experimental, clinical and meta-analytical studies. However, harnessing placebo effects in clinical treatment contexts is hampered legally and ethically, since it has been considered necessary to conceal the inert nature of a placebo application. Interestingly, the results of recently published small, randomized trials suggest that patients can experience symptom relief after taking pills that they know lack any medication. In particular, these so-called open-label placebos (OLP) improved strongly fluctuating and individually distressing complaints such as gastrointestinal, neurological, psychosomatic and pain symptoms. Although the mechanisms are largely unknown, the open-label placebo application might be a promising way of fostering placebo effects in clinical settings. Initial study protocols already provide schedules for OLP use as an additional treatment in opioid use disorders. Likewise, the reduction of side effects, conversion effects or withdrawal symptoms through OLP applications in pharmacologically active treatments appear to serve as appropriate therapy goals. Further mechanistic studies are urgently needed to investigate the thus far only hypothetically proposed underlying mechanisms of OLP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Y Nestoriuc
- Klinische Psychologie, Helmut-Schmidt-Universität, Holstenhofweg 85, 22053, Hamburg, Deutschland. .,Systemische Neurowissenschaften, Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistraße 52, 20251, Hamburg, Deutschland.
| | - J Kleine-Borgmann
- Klinik für Neurologie, Universitätsmedizin Essen, Hufelandstraße 55, 45147, Essen, Deutschland.
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30
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Affiliation(s)
- Luana Colloca
- From the University of Maryland School of Nursing and School of Medicine, Baltimore (L.C.); and the Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston (A.J.B.)
| | - Arthur J Barsky
- From the University of Maryland School of Nursing and School of Medicine, Baltimore (L.C.); and the Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston (A.J.B.)
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31
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Eccles R. The Powerful Placebo Effect in Cough: Relevance to Treatment and Clinical Trials. Lung 2020; 198:13-21. [PMID: 31834478 PMCID: PMC7012959 DOI: 10.1007/s00408-019-00305-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2019] [Accepted: 12/04/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Interest in the placebo effect of medicines has developed from the use of placebo treatments as controls in clinical trials into a whole new area of research around how placebos fit into a psychosocial model of therapeutics. The large placebo effect associated with cough medicines is both a problem and an opportunity for researchers: a problem for clinical trials on new actives as the active must beat the large placebo effect, and an opportunity for harnessing the placebo effect to produce effective cough medicines without any pharmacologically active ingredient. This review discusses the mechanisms associated with the placebo effect of cough medicines and distinguishes between a 'perceived placebo effect' and a true 'placebo effect'. The efficacy of sweeteners in cough syrups is discussed as well as viscosity, mucoadhesion, and flavoring. The complexity of modern cough medicines is demonstrated by an example of a medicine which contains one active ingredient, and eighteen excipients which provide a complex and intense sensory experience to enhance the placebo effect and complement the pharmacological activity of the medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ron Eccles
- Cardiff School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Museum Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3AX, Wales, UK.
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32
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Ruiz J, Feigenbaum L, Best TM. The Thoracic Spine in the Overhead Athlete. Curr Sports Med Rep 2020; 19:11-16. [PMID: 31913918 DOI: 10.1249/jsr.0000000000000671] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Overhead athletes are susceptible to many injuries, particularly in the shoulder and lumbar spine. Due to the heterogeneity of these two regional injuries, it is difficult to pinpoint the exact origin. A potential contributing factor that should be thoroughly evaluated is the thoracic spine. It can be challenging to quantify exactly how much thoracic spine mobility or lack thereof plays a role toward injury. Despite this, when examining mechanics of an overhead athlete, if neuromuscular control of the thorax is impaired, adjacent motion segments often take the brunt of the required movements. This article addresses the need to incorporate the thoracic spine when analyzing the entire kinetic chain. Clinical pearls regarding thoracic neuromuscular control and rehabilitation were explored, as well as a review of recent literature. Further investigation of thoracic spine therapeutic interventions should be considered when treating overhead athletes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey Ruiz
- Department of Physical Therapy and Athletics, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL
| | - Luis Feigenbaum
- Department of Physical Therapy and Athletics, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL
| | - Thomas M Best
- Division of Sports Medicine, Department of Orthopedics, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami Sports Medicine Institute, Coral Gables, FL
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33
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Zunhammer M, Bingel U, Wager TD. Placebo Effects on the Neurologic Pain Signature: A Meta-analysis of Individual Participant Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Data. JAMA Neurol 2019; 75:1321-1330. [PMID: 30073258 DOI: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2018.2017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 103] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Importance Placebo effects reduce pain and contribute to clinical analgesia, but after decades of research, it remains unclear whether placebo treatments mainly affect nociceptive processes or other processes associated with pain evaluation. Objective We conducted a systematic, participant-level meta-analysis to test the effect of placebo treatments on pain-associated functional neuroimaging responses in the neurologic pain signature (NPS), a multivariate brain pattern tracking nociceptive pain. Data Sources Medline (PubMed) was searched from inception to May 2015; the search was augmented with results from previous meta-analyses and expert recommendations. Study Selection Eligible studies were original investigations that were published in English in peer-reviewed journals and that involved functional neuroimaging of the human brain with evoked pain delivered under stimulus intensity-matched placebo and control conditions. The authors of all eligible studies were contacted and asked to provide single-participant data. Data Extraction and Synthesis Data were collected between December 2015 and November 2017 following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses of individual participant data guidelines. Results were summarized across participants and studies in a random-effects model. Main Outcomes and Measures The main, a priori outcome was NPS response; pain reports were assessed as a secondary outcome. Results We obtained data from 20 of 28 identified eligible studies, resulting in a total sample size of 603 healthy individuals. The NPS responses to painful stimulation compared with baseline conditions were positive in 575 participants (95.4%), with a very large effect size (g = 2.30 [95% CI, 1.92 to 2.69]), confirming its sensitivity to nociceptive pain in this sample. Placebo treatments showed significant behavioral outcomes on pain ratings in 17 of 20 studies (85%) and in the combined sample (g = -0.66 [95% CI, -0.80 to -0.53]). However, placebo effects on the NPS response were significant in only 3 of 20 studies (15%) and were very small in the combined sample (g = -0.08 [95% CI, -0.15 to -0.01]). Similarly, analyses restricted to studies with low risk of bias (g = -0.07 [95% CI, -0.15 to 0.00]) indicated very small effects, and analyses of just placebo responders (g = -0.22 [95% CI, -0.34 to -0.11]) indicated small effects, as well. Conclusions and Relevance Placebo treatments have moderate analgesic effects on pain reports. The very small effects on NPS, a validated measure that tracks levels of nociceptive pain, indicate that placebo treatments affect pain via brain mechanisms largely independent of effects on bottom-up nociceptive processing.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ulrike Bingel
- Klinik für Neurologie, Universitätsklinikum Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Tor D Wager
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado, Boulder
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Colloca L, Schenk LA, Nathan DE, Robinson OJ, Grillon C. When Expectancies Are Violated: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study. Clin Pharmacol Ther 2019; 106:1246-1252. [PMID: 31350784 DOI: 10.1002/cpt.1587] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2019] [Accepted: 07/12/2019] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Positive and negative expectancies drive behavioral and neurobiological placebo and nocebo effects, which in turn can have profound effects on patient improvement or worsening. However, expectations of events and outcomes are often not met in daily life and clinical practice. It is currently unknown how this affects placebo and nocebo effects. We have demonstrated that the violation of expectancies, such as when there is a discrepancy between what is expected and what is actually presented, reduces both placebo and nocebo effects while causing an extinction of placebo effects. The reduction of placebo and nocebo effects was paralleled by an activation of the left inferior parietal cortex, a brain region that redirects attention when discrepancies between sensory and cognitive events occur. Our findings highlight the importance of expectancy violation in shaping placebo and nocebo effects and open up new avenues for managing positive and negative expectations in clinical trials and practices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luana Colloca
- Department of Pain and Translational Symptom Science, University of Maryland Baltimore School of Nursing, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Lieven A Schenk
- Department of Pain and Translational Symptom Science, University of Maryland Baltimore School of Nursing, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Dominic E Nathan
- Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Oliver J Robinson
- University College London Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, London, UK
| | - Christian Grillon
- National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
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Colloca L, Wang Y, Martinez PE, Christy Chang YP, Ryan KA, Hodgkinson C, Goldman D, Dorsey SG. OPRM1 rs1799971, COMT rs4680, and FAAH rs324420 genes interact with placebo procedures to induce hypoalgesia. Pain 2019; 160:1824-1834. [PMID: 31335650 PMCID: PMC6668362 DOI: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000001578] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Genetics studies on the placebo hypoalgesic effect highlight a promising link between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the dopamine, opioid, and endocannabinoid genes and placebo hypoalgesia. However, epistasis and replication studies are missing. In this study, we expanded on previous findings related to the 3 SNPs in the opioid receptor mu subunit (OPRM1 rs1799971), catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT rs4680), and fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH rs324420) genes associated with placebo hypoalgesia and tested the effect of a 3-way interaction on placebo hypoalgesia. Using 2 well-established placebo procedures (verbal suggestion and learning paradigm), we induced significant placebo hypoalgesic effects in 160 healthy participants. We found that individuals with OPRM1 AA combined with FAAH Pro/Pro and those carrying COMT met/met together with FAAH Pro/Pro showed significant placebo effects. Participants with COMT met/val alleles showed significant placebo effects independently of OPRM1 and FAAH allele combinations. Finally, the model that included the placebo procedure and genotypes predicted placebo responsiveness with a higher accuracy (area under the curve, AUC = 0.773) as compared to the SNPs alone indicating that genetic variants can only partially explain the placebo responder status. Our results suggest that the endogenous mu-opioid system with a larger activation in response to pain in the met/val allele carriers as well as the synergism between endogenous mu-opioid system and cannabinoids might play the most relevant role in driving hypoalgesic responses. Future epistasis studies with larger sample sizes will help us to fully understand the complexity of placebo effects and explain the mechanisms that underlie placebo responsiveness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luana Colloca
- Department of Pain and Translational Symptom Science, School of Nursing, University of Maryland, Baltimore, USA
- Departments of Anesthesiology and Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Maryland, Baltimore, University of Maryland, Baltimore, USA
- Center to Advance Chronic Pain Research, University of Maryland, Baltimore, USA
| | - Yang Wang
- Department of Pain and Translational Symptom Science, School of Nursing, University of Maryland, Baltimore, USA
- Center to Advance Chronic Pain Research, University of Maryland, Baltimore, USA
| | | | | | | | - Colin Hodgkinson
- Laboratory of Neurogenetics, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - David Goldman
- Laboratory of Neurogenetics, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Susan G. Dorsey
- Department of Pain and Translational Symptom Science, School of Nursing, University of Maryland, Baltimore, USA
- Departments of Anesthesiology and Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Maryland, Baltimore, University of Maryland, Baltimore, USA
- Center to Advance Chronic Pain Research, University of Maryland, Baltimore, USA
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Vase L, Wartolowska K. Pain, placebo, and test of treatment efficacy: a narrative review. Br J Anaesth 2019; 123:e254-e262. [PMID: 30915982 PMCID: PMC6676016 DOI: 10.1016/j.bja.2019.01.040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2018] [Revised: 01/22/2019] [Accepted: 01/28/2019] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Over the past decade, the mechanisms underlying placebo effects have begun to be identified. At the same time, the placebo response appears to have increased in pharmacological trials and marked placebo effects are found in neurostimulation and surgical trials, thereby posing the question whether non-pharmacological interventions should be placebo-controlled to a greater extent. In this narrative review we discuss how the knowledge of placebo mechanisms may help to improve placebo control in pharmacological and non-pharmacological trials. We review the psychological, neurobiological, and genetic mechanisms underlying placebo analgesia and outline the current problems and potential solutions to the challenges with placebo control in trials on pharmacological, neurostimulation, and surgical interventions. We particularly focus on how patients' perception of the therapeutic intervention, and their expectations towards treatment efficacy may help develop more precise placebo controls and blinding procedures and account for the contribution of placebo factors to the efficacy of active treatments. Finally, we discuss how systematic investigations into placebo mechanisms across various pain conditions and types of treatment are needed in order to 'personalise' the placebo control to the specific pathophysiology and interventions, which may ultimately lead to identification of more effective treatment for pain patients. In conclusion this review shows that it is important to understand how patients' perception and expectations influence the efficacy of active and placebo treatments in order to improve the test of new treatments. Importantly, this applies not only to assessment of drug efficacy but also to non-pharmacological trials on surgeries and stimulation procedures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lene Vase
- Department of Psychology and Behavioural Sciences, School of Business and Social Sciences, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
| | - Karolina Wartolowska
- Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Services, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
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Wolters F, Peerdeman KJ, Evers AW. Placebo and Nocebo Effects Across Symptoms: From Pain to Fatigue, Dyspnea, Nausea, and Itch. Front Psychiatry 2019; 10:470. [PMID: 31312148 PMCID: PMC6614509 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2019] [Accepted: 06/13/2019] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Placebo and nocebo effects are, respectively, the helpful and harmful treatment effects that do not arise from active treatment components. These effects have thus far been researched most often in pain. It is not yet clear to what extent these findings from pain can be generalized to other somatic symptoms. This review investigates placebo and nocebo effects in four other highly prevalent symptoms: dyspnea, fatigue, nausea, and itch. The role of learning mechanisms (verbal suggestions, conditioning) in placebo and nocebo effects on various outcomes (self-reported, behavioral, and physiological) of these different somatic symptoms is explored. A search of experimental studies indicated that, as in pain, the combination of verbal suggestion and conditioning is generally more effective than suggestion alone for evoking placebo and nocebo effects. However, conditioning appears more and verbal suggestions less relevant in symptoms other than pain, with the exception of placebo effects on fatigue and nocebo effects on itch. Physiological measures, such as heart rate, lung function, or gastric activity, are rarely affected even when self-reported symptoms are. Neurobiological correlates are rarely investigated, and few commonalities appear across symptoms. Expectations generally predict placebo and nocebo effects for dyspnea and itch but seem less involved in fatigue and nausea. Individual characteristics do not consistently predict placebo or nocebo effects across symptoms or studies. In sum, many conclusions deriving from placebo and nocebo pain studies do appear to apply to other somatic symptoms, but a number of important differences exist. Understanding what type of learning mechanisms for which symptom are most likely to trigger placebo and nocebo effects is crucial for generalizing knowledge for research and therapies across symptoms and can help clinicians to optimize placebo effects in practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabian Wolters
- Health, Medical and Neuropsychology Unit, Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Kaya J. Peerdeman
- Health, Medical and Neuropsychology Unit, Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Andrea W.M. Evers
- Health, Medical and Neuropsychology Unit, Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands
- Department of Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands
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Berthelot JM, Nizard J, Maugars Y. The negative Hawthorne effect: Explaining pain overexpression. Joint Bone Spine 2019; 86:445-449. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jbspin.2018.10.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/31/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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Vase L, Baad-Hansen L, Pigg M. How May Placebo Mechanisms Influence Orofacial Neuropathic Pain? J Dent Res 2019; 98:861-869. [PMID: 31084512 DOI: 10.1177/0022034519848719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The conceptualization of placebo has changed from inactive pills to a detailed understanding of how patients' perception of receiving a treatment influences pain processing and overall treatment outcome. Large placebo effects were recently demonstrated in chronic neuropathic pain, thereby opening the question of whether placebo effects also apply to orofacial neuropathic pain. In this article, we review the new definitions, magnitude, and social, psychological, neurobiologic, and genetic mechanisms of placebo effects in pain, especially neuropathic pain, to illustrate that placebo effects are not simply response bias but psychoneurobiological phenomena that can be measured at many levels of the neuroaxis. We use this knowledge to carefully illustrate how patients' perceptions of the treatment, the relationship with the health care provider, and the expectations and emotions toward a treatment can influence test and treatment outcome and potentially skew the results if they are not taken into consideration. Orofacial neuropathic pain is a new research area, and we review the status on definition, diagnosis, mechanisms, and pharmacologic treatment of neuropathic pain after trigeminal nerve injury, as this condition may be especially influenced by placebo factors. Finally, we have a detailed discussion of how knowledge of placebo mechanisms may help improve the understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of orofacial neuropathic pain, and we illustrate pitfalls and opportunities of applying this knowledge to the test of dental treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Vase
- 1 Department of Psychology and Behavioural Sciences, School of Business and Social Sciences, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - L Baad-Hansen
- 2 Section of Orofacial Pain and Jaw Function, Department of Dentistry and Oral Health, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.,3 Scandinavian Center of Orofacial Neurosciences, Aarhus, Denmark / Malmö, Sweden
| | - M Pigg
- 3 Scandinavian Center of Orofacial Neurosciences, Aarhus, Denmark / Malmö, Sweden.,4 Department of Endodontics, Faculty of Odontology, Malmö University, Malmö, Sweden
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Case LK, Laubacher CM, Richards EA, Grossman M, Atlas LY, Parker S, Bushnell MC. Is placebo analgesia for heat pain a sensory effect? An exploratory study on minimizing the influence of response bias. NEUROBIOLOGY OF PAIN 2019; 5. [PMID: 31080912 PMCID: PMC6505707 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynpai.2018.09.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
We explored whether placebo analgesia alters afferent nociceptive processing. Healthy adult participants received a standard heat placebo induction procedure. Placebo manipulation was modified to reduce experimenter demand. A novel inter-arm sensory discrimination task was administered. Only placebo responders showed changes in discriminative ability.
We explored the ongoing question of whether placebo analgesia alters afferent nociceptive processing in a novel paradigm designed to minimize the role of response bias in placebo measurement. First, healthy adult participants received a standard heat placebo induction and conditioning procedure using a topical “analgesic” cream applied to one arm. During a subsequent placebo testing procedure, participants rated stimuli on the placebo-treated arm and untreated arm, using a task that minimized subjects’ ability to guess the expected response, thus reducing experimenter demand. Retrospectively participants reported moderate analgesia effectiveness (mean = 5.3/10), but for individual temperature ratings, only 2 subjects exhibited a perceptual placebo response >5 points. Next, these subjects completed a novel, exploratory task designed to measure changes in inter-arm in discriminative accuracy that would be expected from changes in afferent nociception. Both placebo responders (but no non-responders) showed reduced discriminative ability when the hotter stimulus occurred on the placebo arm, an effect consistent with alterations in nociceptive afferent flow and unlikely to be caused by response bias.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura K Case
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, NIH, Bethesda, MD, United State
| | - Claire M Laubacher
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, NIH, Bethesda, MD, United State
| | - Emily A Richards
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, NIH, Bethesda, MD, United State
| | - Matthew Grossman
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, NIH, Bethesda, MD, United State
| | - Lauren Y Atlas
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, NIH, Bethesda, MD, United State.,National Institutes on Drug Abuse, NIH, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Scott Parker
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, NIH, Bethesda, MD, United State.,Department of Psychology, American University, United States
| | - M Catherine Bushnell
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, NIH, Bethesda, MD, United State
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Janssens T, Meulders A, Cuyvers B, Colloca L, Vlaeyen JW. Placebo and nocebo effects and operant pain-related avoidance learning. Pain Rep 2019; 4:e748. [PMID: 31583361 PMCID: PMC6749895 DOI: 10.1097/pr9.0000000000000748] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2019] [Revised: 03/25/2019] [Accepted: 03/26/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Research on learning in placebo and nocebo has relied predominantly on Pavlovian conditioning procedures. Operant learning procedures may more accurately model learning in real-life situations in which placebo and nocebo effects occur. OBJECTIVES To investigate the development and persistence of placebo and nocebo effects using an operant avoidance learning task. METHODS Pain-free participants (n = 58) could learn to avoid pain by performing movements that differed in difficulty and intensity of painful stimulation. Participants performed movements in 2 contexts. In the high cost of avoidance context, pain stimulus intensity reduced with increasing movement difficulty. In the low cost of avoidance context, contingencies were reversed. Participants rated pain expectations and pain intensity. During test, movement difficulties were unchanged, but participants always received a medium-intensity pain stimulus. Placebo and nocebo effects were defined as lower/higher pain intensity ratings for trajectories that previously resulted in low/high-intensity compared with medium-intensity stimulation. RESULTS As expected, participants acquired differential movement-pain expectations and differential movement choices. Testing with a medium-intensity pain stimulus quickly erased differences in movement choice across contexts, but differences in pain expectations were maintained. Pain modulation across context was in line with movement-pain expectations. However, we only observed placebo effects within the low cost of avoidance context and found no evidence of nocebo effects. CONCLUSION Operant learning can change pain expectations, pain modulation, and pain-related avoidance behavior. Persisting pain expectations suggest that acquired pain beliefs may be resistant to disconfirmation, despite self-initiated experience with novel pain-movement contingencies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Janssens
- Health Psychology, KU Leuven (University of Leuven), Leuven, Belgium
| | - Ann Meulders
- Health Psychology, KU Leuven (University of Leuven), Leuven, Belgium
- Research Group Behavioral Medicine, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Bien Cuyvers
- Health Psychology, KU Leuven (University of Leuven), Leuven, Belgium
| | - Luana Colloca
- Department of Pain Translational Symptom Science, School of Nursing, University of Maryland, BaltimoreMD, USA
- Department of Anesthesiology/Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Center to Advance Chronic Pain Research, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Johan W.S. Vlaeyen
- Health Psychology, KU Leuven (University of Leuven), Leuven, Belgium
- Research Group Behavioral Medicine, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands
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Leibowitz KA, Hardebeck EJ, Goyer JP, Crum AJ. The role of patient beliefs in open-label placebo effects. Health Psychol 2019; 38:613-622. [PMID: 31021124 DOI: 10.1037/hea0000751] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Recent research on open-label placebos, or placebos administered without deception or concealment, suggests that they can be effective in a variety of conditions. The current research sought to unpack the mechanisms underlying the treatment efficacy of open-label placebos. METHOD A health care provider induced an allergic reaction in 148 participants via a histamine skin prick test. Participants were then exposed to 1 of 4 conditions additively leveraging various mechanisms of open-label placebo treatments: a supportive patient-provider relationship, a medical ritual, positive expectations, and a rationale about the power of placebos. RESULTS There were no main effects of condition on allergic responses. However, participant beliefs about placebos moderated the effect of open-label placebo treatment condition on physiological allergic reactions: the condition including all 4 components of open-label placebos (a supportive patient-provider relationship, a medical ritual, positive expectations, and a rationale about the power of placebos) significantly reduced physiological allergic reaction among participants with a strong belief in placebos compared with participants in the control group. CONCLUSION Participants' beliefs about placebos interact with information from the provider to reduce physiological allergic reactions in response to an open-label placebo treatment. This study underscores the importance of measuring and understanding how participants' beliefs influence outcomes of treatment, and furthers our understanding of when and how open-label placebo treatments work. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
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Frisaldi E, Shaibani A, Vollert J, Ferrero B, Carrino R, Ibraheem HD, Vase L, Benedetti F. The placebo response in myasthenia gravis assessed by quantitative myasthenia gravis score: A meta-analysis. Muscle Nerve 2019; 59:671-678. [PMID: 30883809 DOI: 10.1002/mus.26469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2018] [Revised: 03/11/2019] [Accepted: 03/12/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION This meta-analysis investigates the placebo response in generalized myasthenia gravis (MG) trials by means of Quantitative Myasthenia Gravis (QMG) scores. METHODS PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane Controlled Trial Register, and EMBASE were searched. QMG score, dropouts rate, adverse events (AEs), and AEs responsible for dropouts were examined, together with treatment moderators. RESULTS The magnitude of placebo response showed an effect size of 0.24, which was significantly lower than 0.67 of the drug response (P = 0.019). Furthermore, the forest plot revealed that, overall, active treatments showed a significantly higher impact on QMG scores than placebos. CONCLUSIONS Placebo and drug responses in MG trials are small and moderate, respectively. The lack of MG trials with a pure placebo arm or a no-treatment control arm made it impossible to disentangle improvements due to the placebo psychological effect from other effects such as natural history and/or regression to the mean. Muscle Nerve 59:671-678, 2019.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Frisaldi
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin Medical School, Corso Raffaello 30, 10125 Turin, Italy
| | | | - Jan Vollert
- Pain Research, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Surgery & Cancer, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.,Center of Biomedicine and Medical Technology Mannheim CBTM, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Germany
| | - Bruno Ferrero
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin Medical School, Corso Raffaello 30, 10125 Turin, Italy
| | - Roberta Carrino
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin Medical School, Corso Raffaello 30, 10125 Turin, Italy
| | | | - Lene Vase
- Department of Psychology and Behavioural Sciences, School of Business and Social Sciences, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Fabrizio Benedetti
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin Medical School, Corso Raffaello 30, 10125 Turin, Italy.,Plateau Rosà Laboratories, Plateau Rosà, Italy/Switzerland
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Gallo L, Megna M, Cirillo T, Caterino P, Lodi G, Mozzillo R, Dente V, Balato A. Psoriasis and skin pain: real‐life effectiveness of calcipotriol
plus
betamethasone dipropionate in aerosol foam formulation. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol 2019; 33:1312-1315. [DOI: 10.1111/jdv.15488] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2018] [Accepted: 01/14/2019] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- L. Gallo
- Section of Dermatology Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery University of Naples Federico II Naples Italy
| | - M. Megna
- Section of Dermatology Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery University of Naples Federico II Naples Italy
| | - T. Cirillo
- Section of Dermatology Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery University of Naples Federico II Naples Italy
| | - P. Caterino
- Dermatology Center of Aversa (ASL CE) Aversa Italy
| | - G. Lodi
- Dermatology Center of Aversa (ASL CE) Aversa Italy
| | - R. Mozzillo
- Dermatology and Venereology Unit of the “San Gennaro” Hospital Naples Italy
| | - V. Dente
- Dermatology and Venereology Unit of the “San Gennaro” Hospital Naples Italy
| | - A. Balato
- Department of Advanced Biomedical Sciences University of Naples “Federico II” Napoli Italy
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Meeuwis SH, van Middendorp H, van Laarhoven AIM, Veldhuijzen DS, Lavrijsen APM, Evers AWM. Effects of Open- and Closed-Label Nocebo and Placebo Suggestions on Itch and Itch Expectations. Front Psychiatry 2019; 10:436. [PMID: 31293458 PMCID: PMC6598628 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2018] [Accepted: 06/03/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Placebo and nocebo effects have been shown to influence subjective symptoms such as itch. These effects can be induced by influencing outcome expectations through, for example, combining the application of an inert substance (e.g., a cream) with verbal suggestions on the anticipated effects of this substance. Interestingly, placebo effects also occur when it is known that a treatment is inert (i.e., open-label placebo). However, no study to date has examined the efficacy of negative and positive verbal suggestions under similar open-label and closed-label (i.e., concealed placebo/nocebo) conditions in itch. A randomized controlled between-subjects study design was applied in which healthy volunteers (n = 92) were randomized to 1) an open-label positive verbal suggestion group, 2) a closed-label positive verbal suggestion group, 3) an open-label negative verbal suggestion group, or 4) a closed-label negative verbal suggestion group. Verbal suggestions were made regarding the topical application of an inert substance. Itch was evoked experimentally by histamine iontophoresis at baseline and again following suggestions. Itch expectations, self-reported itch during and following iontophoresis, and skin response parameters were measured. Positive suggestions were found to result in significantly lower expected itch than were negative suggestions in both open- and closed-label conditions. No effects of the suggestions on itch during iontophoresis were found, but significantly lower itch was reported in the 4 min following iontophoresis in the (combined open- and closed-label) positive compared with negative verbal suggestion groups. In addition, a smaller increase in skin temperature was found in the positive compared with negative suggestion groups. The findings illustrate a potential role of (open- and closed-label) placebo for optimizing expectations and treatment effects for itch in clinical practice. Clinical Trial Registration: Netherlands Trial Register, trial number: NTR6530.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefanie H Meeuwis
- Health, Medical and Neuropsychology Unit, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands.,Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Henriët van Middendorp
- Health, Medical and Neuropsychology Unit, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands.,Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Antoinette I M van Laarhoven
- Health, Medical and Neuropsychology Unit, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands.,Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands.,Department of Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Dieuwke S Veldhuijzen
- Health, Medical and Neuropsychology Unit, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands.,Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands
| | | | - Andrea W M Evers
- Health, Medical and Neuropsychology Unit, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands.,Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands.,Department of Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands
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46
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Locher C, Frey Nascimento A, Kossowsky J, Meyer A, Gaab J. Open-label placebo response - Does optimism matter? A secondary-analysis of a randomized controlled trial. J Psychosom Res 2019; 116:25-30. [PMID: 30654990 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2018.11.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2018] [Revised: 11/12/2018] [Accepted: 11/13/2018] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Open-label placebos (OLPs) have been found to elicit significant and clinical meaningful effects, but in comparison to deceptive placebo administration there is a lack of research regarding possible predictors. This study sets out to examine the effects of optimism and other personality-related variables on OLP responses. METHODS We conducted a secondary-analysis of an OLP trial in healthy participants (N = 160), who were randomized to no treatment (NT), OLP without rationale (OPR-), OLP with rationale (OPR+), and deceptive placebo (DP) in an experimental heat pain paradigm. RESULTS The association between objective posttreatment pain tolerance and optimism did not differ among groups. However, for subjective heat pain ratings at posttreatment, regression analyses showed a significant interaction between group and optimism scores in subjective intensity (F[3, 142] = 3.81, P = 0.012) and unpleasantness ratings (F[3, 142] = 2.95, P = 0.035), indicating that the association between optimism and subjective ratings differed among groups, in particular between OPR+ and NT (intensity: P = 0.012; unpleasantness: P = 0.037), and OPR+ and DP (intensity: P = 0.016). Thus, higher optimism scores were negatively associated with subjective ratings in the NT and DP groups but not in the OPR+ group. Additional exploratory analyses revealed no significant interactions between group and further personality-related variables on heat pain analgesia. CONCLUSION Taken together, OLPs are effective, the underlying personality-related variables seem, however, to differ significantly from the deceptive placebo response. Therefore, the concept of "placebo responders" might depend on the route of placebo administration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cosima Locher
- Division of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology, University of Basel, Switzerland.
| | - Antje Frey Nascimento
- Division of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology, University of Basel, Switzerland
| | - Joe Kossowsky
- Division of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology, University of Basel, Switzerland; Department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School (HMS), Boston, MA, USA
| | - Andrea Meyer
- Division of Clinical Psychology and Epidemiology, Department of Psychology, University of Basel, Switzerland
| | - Jens Gaab
- Division of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology, University of Basel, Switzerland
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Geers AL, Briñol P, Petty RE. An Analysis of the Basic Processes of Formation and Change of Placebo Expectations. REVIEW OF GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY 2018. [DOI: 10.1037/gpr0000171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Placebo effects are the measurable psychological, biological, and behavioral changes that can result from expecting a treatment to be effective. Here we argue that not all expectations are created equally and there is much to learn by clarifying the psychological processes that underlie the expectations that cause placebo effects. It is proposed that the formation and change of placebo expectations can be understood from the standpoint of a general psychological model describing the basic processes of mental change. Specifically, we use the Elaboration Likelihood Model to explain how placebo-relevant variables (e.g., doctor’s lab coat, drug price, number and color of pills, patient’s mood) can work to affect expectations. Clarifying the antecedent processes responsible for placebo expectations leads to new insights regarding placebo effects, including their durability, directionality, and ability to alter subsequent behaviors (e.g., treatment adherence). A key point from our approach is that expectations causing placebo effects can be formed under high or low thought. High-thought expectations should be more likely to resist change, last over time, predict placebo effects better than low-thought expectations, and have a greater likelihood to alter subsequent behaviors. We conclude by describing a variety of theoretical innovations that this new conceptualization raises and suggest novel paths for research and application.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Pablo Briñol
- Department of Social Psychology and Methodology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
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Lascurain-Aguirrebeña I, Newham DJ, Casado-Zumeta X, Lertxundi A, Critchley DJ. Immediate effects of cervical mobilisations on global perceived effect, movement associated pain and neck kinematics in patients with non-specific neck pain. A double blind placebo randomised controlled trial. Musculoskelet Sci Pract 2018; 38:83-90. [PMID: 30342295 DOI: 10.1016/j.msksp.2018.10.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2018] [Revised: 10/02/2018] [Accepted: 10/08/2018] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Neck pain is prevalent, costly and disabling. Cervical mobilisations are frequently used to treat it but their effectiveness has been questioned by several systematic reviews. Evidence suggests that better outcomes are achieved with mobilisations when they are applied to specific patient subgroups. A criteria for patients suitable for neck mobilisations has been proposed, but the effectiveness on this patient subgroup has not been tested. OBJECTIVE To assess the effectiveness of cervical mobilisations applied to a subgroup of patients with neck pain who fulfil specific criteria. DESIGN Randomised controlled trial. METHOD 40 patients with neck pain attending a Physiotherapy clinic were recruited and randomised to a single session of either cervical mobilisations or motionless manual contact placebo. The immediate effects on global perceived effect, range of movement (ROM), movement velocity and movement associated pain were assessed. RESULTS mobilisation participants reported significantly better global perceived effect (p˂0.001) and improvements in movement associated pain (p = 0.041). Mobilisations produced a significant increase in ROM in side flexion (p = 0.006) and rotation (p = 0.044) when compared with placebo, but only in patients with pre-intervention ROM restriction. 29-47% of all movement associated pains were resolved following mobilisations and 11-27% following placebo. Patients in both groups showed a significant (p < 0.05) increase in movement velocity, but only in those who had a velocity restriction pre-intervention. CONCLUSIONS Cervical mobilisations are effective in improving movement-associated pain, increasing ROM and velocity, and patient perceived improvement when applied to patients with neck pain that fulfil a criteria. Their use should be advocated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ion Lascurain-Aguirrebeña
- Division of Health and Social Care Research, Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine, King's College London, London, SE1 1UL, United Kingdom; Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine and Nursing, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Leioa, 48940, Spain.
| | - Di J Newham
- Centre of Human & Applied Physiological Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine, King's College London, London, SE1 1UL, United Kingdom.
| | | | - Aitana Lertxundi
- Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Leioa, 48940, Spain; Health Research Institute, Biodonostia, San Sebastian, Spain; Spanish Consortium for Research on Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Duncan J Critchley
- Division of Health and Social Care Research, Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine, King's College London, London, SE1 1UL, United Kingdom.
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Hudson R, Richmond A, Sanchez B, Stevenson V, Baker RT, May J, Nasypany A, Reordan D. Innovative treatment of clinically diagnosed meniscal tears: a randomized sham-controlled trial of the Mulligan concept 'squeeze' technique. J Man Manip Ther 2018; 26:254-263. [PMID: 30455552 DOI: 10.1080/10669817.2018.1456614] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of the Mulligan Concept (MC) 'squeeze' technique compared to a sham technique in participants with a clinically diagnosed meniscal tear. Methods: A multi-site randomized sham-controlled trial of participants (n = 23), aged 24.91 ± 12.09 years, with a clinically diagnosed meniscal tear were equally and randomly divided into two groups. Groups received a maximum of six treatments over 14 days. Patient outcomes included the numeric pain rating scale (NRS), patient-specific functional scale (PSFS), the disablement in the physically active (DPA) scale and the knee injury osteoarthritis outcome score. Data were analysed using univariate ANOVA, univariate ANCOVA, and descriptive statistics. Results: All participants in the MC 'squeeze' group met the discharge criteria of ≤2 points on the NRS, ≥9 points on the PSFS, and ≤34 points or ≤23 on the DPA Scale for chronic or acute injuries, respectively within the treatment intervention timeframe. A significant difference was found in favor of the MC 'squeeze' technique in PSFS scores (F(1, 21) = 4.40, p = .048, partial eta squared = .17, observed power = .52) and in DPA Scale scores (F(1, 21) = 7.46, p = .013, partial eta squared = .27, observed power = .74). Discussion: The results indicate the MC 'squeeze' technique had positive effects on patient function and health-related quality of life over a period of 14 days and was clinically and statistically superior to the sham treatment. Further investigation of the MC 'squeeze' technique is warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robinetta Hudson
- Department of Sports Medicine, Concordia Lutheran High School, Tomball, TX, USA
| | - Amy Richmond
- Department of Athletics-Sports Medicine, High Point University, High Point, NC, USA
| | - Belinda Sanchez
- Department of Movement Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, USA
| | - Valerie Stevenson
- Department of Athletics-Sports Medicine, Texas Woman's University, Denton, TX, USA
| | - Russell T Baker
- Department of Movement Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, USA
| | - James May
- Department of Movement Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, USA
| | - Alan Nasypany
- Department of Movement Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, USA
| | - Don Reordan
- Orthopedic Department, Jacksonville Physical Therapy, Jacksonville, OR, USA
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50
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Placebo acceptability in chronic pain patients: More dependent on application mode and resulting condition than on individual factors. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0206968. [PMID: 30399194 PMCID: PMC6219799 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0206968] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2017] [Accepted: 10/23/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction Placebo effects can be very effective in certain pain conditions, but their use is still highly controversial. Several studies show that patients would accept a placebo treatment under certain circumstances, particularly when they are informed prior to the treatment or when there are no effective treatment alternatives. This study examines the question, which factors influence the degree of acceptability of a hypothetical placebo application. Methods Patients filled in a questionnaire dealing with placebo applications. Moreover general data, diagnosis, duration of pain, pain ratings and anxiety/depression/stress scores, sleep disorders and opioid intake were collected from the patients` charts. 129 patients (44 men / 85 women, mean age 51.5 years, 18.0–80.9 years) entered the study. All patients had chronic pain syndromes and were treated in an universitary academic interdisciplinary pain center. Mean duration of pain was 14.7 years. Results The study did not show significant differences in placebo acceptability among patients with different pain diagnoses or accompanying psychological diagnoses or disorders. Hidden placebo application was considered much more unacceptable for the patients than the enhanced placebo or the open placebo application. An improved condition was associated with less feeling of deception, more trust and less negative mood than an unchanged or worsened condition. Conclusion Acceptance of placebo as pain therapy is much more dependent on the way of application (hidden or open) or on the resulting condition (improved, unchanged or worsened) than on factors inherent in the individual patients.
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