Homeopathy is a form of alternative medicine that was made up 200 years ago by a German physician named Samuel Hahnemann who was trying to improve on the then current medical practice of blood letting. But while homeopathy is usually less dangerous than blood letting, which was fatal to many of its patients, including most likely, George Washington, it is equally as effective. By which I mean to say categorically that it’s equally ineffective, which is why it might be dangerous - if truly effective medication is either not sought or refused. Homeopathy is based on the notion that “like cures like” - that a little of something causing illness would somehow cure it (and we’ll talk later about what is meant in homeopathy by the word “little,” which is more like non-existent). Bear in mind, however, that 200 years ago they had no idea what caused […]
Original post by natalieb and weightlossopinions.com
Let’s talk about placebos, and in particular about how you’d feel if you found out that your doctor had prescribed something for you that he or she believed actually had no activity against your illness other than a psychological effect. But instead of calling it a placebo, he or she told you that the prescription was for “a medicine not typically used for your condition but which might benefit you.” Would you be okay with it figuring that your doctor had your best interests in mind and was trying, as best he or she knew how, to help alleviate your symptoms, or would you be angry, feeling that you’d been misled, or worse, the victim of fraud?
However you feel, it seems that placebo prescribing may be more common than you think. A new study, conducted in the United States but published online in the British Medical Journal […]
Original post by natalieb and weightlossopinions.com
The antidepressant Cymbalta (duloxetine), marketed by Lilly, has received FDA approval for the treatment of fibromyalgia. While certain antidepressants are considered first-line therapy for fibromyalgia, most notably the tricyclic antidepressants such as amitriptyline, none had been approved by the FDA for this use until now. Cymbalta belongs to a newer class of antidepressants known collectively as serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), which are somewhat similar to the serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), of which Prozac, also marketed by Lilly, is the most widely known. Cymbalta is already marketed for the treatment of depression, anxiety and for pain associated with diabetic peripheral neuropathy. It was first approved for U.S. marketing in 2004.
Cymbalta is now the second drug approved by the FDA for the treatment of fibromyalgia. Almost exactly one year ago the FDA approved Pfizer’s Lyrica (pregabalin) and I alerted readers to that approval in a posting; at […]
Original post by natalieb and weightlossopinions.com
