The conclusion of Kooga et al. [1] that ‘‘the nocebo effect of acupuncture is clinically meaningful and the rate of patients with any adverse event may be a more appropriate indicator of the nocebo effect’’ deserves some comments. First, opposing placebo and nocebo is a misconception. Indeed, conditioning and expectations are the main factors triggering a response, whether positive or negative....

1 Oftedal G, Wilen J, Sandstrom M, Mild KH. Symptoms experienced in connection with mobile phone use.Occup Med 2000;50:237-45. 2 Hyland GJ. Physics and biology of mobile telephony. Lancet 2000;356:1833-6. 3 Koivisto M,Haarala C, Krause CM,Revonsuo A, Laine M,Hamalainen H. GSM phone signal does not produce subjective symptoms. Bioelectromagnetics 2001;22:212-5. 4 Hocking B. Preliminary report: s...

A useful way to summarize the placebo-nocebo theme is to consider the tension and interaction between conviction and responsibility. With the conviction of the mainstream biomedical paradigm prevalent today, it would be tempting to say to Dr. Engel's patient: "That question is nonsense. Cancer pain is not classified as 'male' or 'female.' Pain varies with location in the body and other factors....

OBJECTIVE On the basis of emerging research evidence, this review aims to discuss the importance of the context surrounding the doctor-patient encounter for the success of treatment. DESIGN AND SETTING Discussion paper based on placebo-nocebo and pain studies conducted in the western world. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Literature-based theory about impact of communication elements on seriousness o...

The influence of positive or negative expectations on clinical outcomes such as pain relief or motor performance in patients and healthy participants has been extensively investigated for years. Such research promises potential benefit for patient treatment by deliberately using expectations as means to stimulate endogenous regulation processes. Especially regarding recent interest and controve...