For how we live.
Two blinded randomised trials found magnetic wrist straps and copper bracelets worked no better than dummy versions for arthritis pain. The reported relief looks like a placebo effect.
Wellness marketing says reconnecting to the Earth's electrons lowers cortisol, inflammation and pain. The human studies are small, mostly unblinded, and largely produced by the idea's own advocates.
TikTok says a castor oil pack on the abdomen detoxes the liver, balances hormones and melts bloating. The oil's only proven action is as a laxative when swallowed — not soaked in through skin.
The gap between those two numbers is the whole argument. An individual-patient meta-analysis of 20,827 people found real effects on both comparisons, and found that the choice of sham changed the answer.
FIMPACT enrolled 210 people, assigned them to real surgery, fake surgery or exercise, and followed them to 2023. The gap between operated and pretend-operated groups was 1.5 points on a 100-point scale.
Analgesic trials keep failing, and one reason is that the comparison arm keeps improving. Where a trial recruits, how long it runs and how big it is all move the placebo response — and none of that is about the drug.
A pooled analysis of five trials in treatment-resistant depression found sex differences in response. The largest ones appeared in both arms, which points at something other than the drug.