Quoting Michael Loo to Nancy Backus on 04-28-18 17:10 <=-

I'm presuming that the placebo effect seldom
includes huge massive life-threatening issues,

In most cases, I'd presume similarly... However, if the clinical trial
takes you off your regular medication in order to test the new one, it
might not be an allergic reaction but your body not getting what it
needs...

In which case the risk is the same as with
any other replacement medication.

Pretty much.... I'm reminded now, though, that the placebo may not be
totally inert... One study I was on, the placebo was the drop (all the ingredients otherwise) except for the medication itself... one could
have a life-threatening reaction to the medium potentially...

and if one suffers those during a study, it
should be the duty of the investigator to stop
the patient's participation and inform them of
the identity of the drug, so the problem won't
be encountered again.

That usually is the expressed plan of action, along with the means of finding out for that individual which is being administered to them. Not doing that would be reprehensible, I'd say...

And the drug companies never, ever do anything
reprehensible. Right?

One wishes... ;)

Which is where the profit motive has us over
a barrel, as Big Pharma can muster enough
resources to sponsor meaningful studies, but
naturopaths and traditional medicine people
can't. Of course, that lets in the problem
of observer bias as well, so no scenario is
without disadvantages.

Quite true....

Science is better than no science, but most of
it is not airtight or totally unbiased.

Indeed.

Which is why the national institutes and
academic laboratories (back before corporate
sponsored research) were so valuable.

Yup... Probably too late to put the genie back in the bottle, but it
would be nice to go back to such...

I watched an episode of the Fearless Chef on the
plane; he ate progressively weirder things,
starting with crickets and scorpions, then going
on to spiders (all the above at least edible),
and drawing the line at millipedes, of which he
took one bite and declared that it tasted like
rotten pate. More entertaining even than Zimmern.

Give him credit for trying a bite... (G) I've had grasshoppers... ;)

Such critters aren't too bad fried.

I remember them chocolate-covered... but fried would be nice too... :)

I did have some nutso friends.

I tried to avoid that sort of thing... ;0

Eh, friends are friends, even if they are nuts.

I mean getting drawn into the dares etc... had plenty of nutso
friends...

I'd roll my eyes at most such shenanigans.
Remember back when that was an actual
physical gesture?

I've been known to practice it still... ;)

Had two slices of pizza recently and just
one pill, and few if any ill effects.

Does indeed sound promising... ;)

And today on our walk my friend Bonnie bought
me two scoops of Christina's ice cream - malted
vanilla and chocolate -, but I'd forgotten my
pills. The only ill effects were a few not too
malodorous poots, and then nothing. A pretty
red-letter day.

Quite amazing... I'm sure you could easily get used to that sort of
thing... :)

ttyl neb

... Apparently, "Now More Cashews!" is code for "Now Only Two Pecans!"

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