It Really Is Mind Over Matter

It seems that the old belief that some illnesses are a question of 'mind over matter' really does mean something. Scientists have long been fascinated by the placebo effect and the way it can play a powerful role in controlling pain and illness.

Medical studies have shown how effective placebos during drug trials when people are led to believe they are taking something that will make them better.
Now German scientists have uncovered what may lie at the heart of this remarkable effect.
Researchers in Hamburg have discovered that placebos may work because they have an effect of blocking signals from the spinal cord to the brain.
The research suggests that when people think a treatment is going to be effective this triggers a response from the part of the brain that deals with pain control. Signals trigger a release of endorphins which flood the the spinal cord with instructions to suppress pain signals.
The effect is similar to that caused by drugs such as morphine and suggests that brain activity triggers a physiological response. The study now shows the way in which the mind over matter does work, at least when it comes to the human body.
The new research supports the view of people who argue that more should be done to enhance the bodies natural powers to heal and prevent pain.
Some have taken this to extremes by demonstrating how an operation can be carried out on a hypnotised patient without the need for powerful anaesthetics. More prosaically, researchers are also working on how patients with long term conditions can work on distraction techniques to help them overcome pain.
The new research also comes after a series of findings which appear to undermine claims that anti-depressants are an effective treatment. Family doctors report that many patients report feeling better within days of taking the medication, when it fact it takes weeks to fully kick in.
This underlines another accepted truism;that what you think will do you good, does do you good.
But now science is starting to find out why this works and the irony is that drug companies are already looking to see if it can provide clues for the next generation of pain killers.