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This Is What Your Spine Looks Like When The Placebo Effect Kicks In
This Blue Rat May Have the Secret to Avoid Spinal Cord Injuries

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Rex the Decadent
10/21/09

In reply to This Is What Your Spine Looks Like When The Placebo Effect Kicks In
Spineless creeps like me are doomed to suffer pain till the end of eternity. #placeboeffect
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tempesfugit000
10/17/09

In reply to This Is What Your Spine Looks Like When The Placebo Effect Kicks In
You miss the point when you call the test subjects gullible. The point was not to deceive but to measure the contribution of patients expectation of a treatment effect. This is a powerful tool and is worth understanding better. Patients who feel positive about a therapy nearly always do better than those who don't. Patients who feel negative about the same therapy will often have little or no benefit. That "treatments" like homeopathy and chiropractic, which have no scientific validity, are often perceived effective by patients is a testament to the power of the placebo effect and of patients expectations of a therapy. We need to respect it and apply it better in traditional medical therapy.
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Rosa Golijan
10/17/09

@tempesfugit000: That line was written tongue-in-cheek.

And I agree, the effect needs to be studied further in order to be applied in various therapy methods. #placeboeffect
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Mr.MellonCollie
10/17/09

In reply to This Is What Your Spine Looks Like When The Placebo Effect Kicks In
"Instead what the lab coats did was use an inactive cream and reduce the heat to a tolerable level, at least on the first go."

You didn't even read the article properly, Rosa. They toned down the heat at first to impose the idea that the cream actually works to the participants. #placeboeffect
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Rosa Golijan
10/17/09

@Mr.MellonCollie: "Basically, the volunteers were expecting to feel less pain, just as they did in the tolerable heat test. The very basis of the Placebo Effect."
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Edited by Rosa Golijan at 10/17/09 5:55 PM Rosa Golijan was starred Rosa Golijan was unstarred

Mike Zuniga: That was Unexpected
10/16/09

In reply to This Is What Your Spine Looks Like When The Placebo Effect Kicks In
So, the placebo effect looks like a Lypozine ad? #placeboeffect
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Rejexted
10/16/09

@Mike Zuniga: That was Unexpected: haha, Lypozine got recalled. #placeboeffect
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Duckspwn
10/16/09

In reply to This Is What Your Spine Looks Like When The Placebo Effect Kicks In
If only I wasn't so suspect about medication, maybe the placebo affect would work way better for me.
By the way, love the new system. Not a huge fan of the way the tags are now, but the fact that there are notifications is awesome. Just awesome. #placeboeffect
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Conrad
10/17/09

@Duckspwn: if you are using herbal remedies instead of medication, then the placebo effect has been working for you for years. #placeboeffect
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valkilmerisawful
10/17/09

@Duckspwn: You, sir, are in a better position to benefit from placebo effects than you are (most certainly) aware. Bare with me, but having the understanding that the placebo effect is a (mysteriously) scientifically effective method of treatment in many cases, it reasons that your own consciousness has greater affect on the consequence of your personal experience, which is surprisingly inspiring, and not surprisingly confusing. Either way, you are aware, my friend. End! #placeboeffect
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Duckspwn
10/17/09

@Conrad: I personally believe most herbal remedies are BS. #placeboeffect
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Duckspwn
10/17/09

@valkilmerisawful: Interesting... very interesting. #placeboeffect
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Conrad
10/17/09

@Duckspwn: so true #placeboeffect
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GitEmSteveDave_DefinesTurgid
10/16/09

In reply to This Is What Your Spine Looks Like When The Placebo Effect Kicks In
Or when you're a skinjob having sex. #RosaRocks #placeboeffect
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UbaidMerula
10/16/09

@GitEmSteveDave_#GitEmSteveDaveRocks: We're Cylon descendents after all. #placeboeffect
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GitEmSteveDave_DefinesTurgid
10/16/09

@UbaidMerula: Maybe you are. I'm Starbuck stuff. #placeboeffect
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balls187
07/28/09

In reply to This Blue Rat May Have the Secret to Avoid Spinal Cord Injuries
Horrible.
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Skunky
07/28/09

In reply to This Blue Rat May Have the Secret to Avoid Spinal Cord Injuries

I think i've seen this guy on TV before.
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Nick
07/28/09

In reply to This Blue Rat May Have the Secret to Avoid Spinal Cord Injuries
i wish it would smile. i wanna know if that mouse is bluetooth or not.
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Geisrud
07/28/09

In reply to This Blue Rat May Have the Secret to Avoid Spinal Cord Injuries
If it helps with pain too, I'm all aboard for being a bit blue.

I'd get a whole group of people together who have had this procedure done, we'd march down the street chanting, "We're Number 1".
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VernonLalime
07/28/09

In reply to This Blue Rat May Have the Secret to Avoid Spinal Cord Injuries
I like the idea of a custom colored mouse! New marketing idea?

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FredicvsMaximvs promoted this comment Hi, I'm God approved this comment VernonLalime was starred VernonLalime was unstarred

Jrsy Devil's Advocate®
07/28/09

In reply to This Blue Rat May Have the Secret to Avoid Spinal Cord Injuries
"The rat could walk, run, jump, have sex"

He has blue balls.... poor little rat.
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Edited by Jrsy Devil's Advocate® at 07/28/09 6:38 AM

tsroark
07/28/09

In reply to This Blue Rat May Have the Secret to Avoid Spinal Cord Injuries
So it just takes food coloring injections to change the color of your skin?

Why has nobody ever though of this before? Why aren't there legions of punk kids running around in technicolor? Or Neon?
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Geisrud
07/28/09

@tsroark: With a bit of precision, one could even make complex or fun designs on the skin. There would be run-down skanky "parlors' where one could go to have this procedure performed where the artists, despite the foul surroundings, employ perfect aseptic technique.

Ahh, but what to call it...
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Voyou_Charmant
07/28/09

In reply to This Blue Rat May Have the Secret to Avoid Spinal Cord Injuries
I'm sure this is fine.
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general12345
07/28/09

In reply to This Blue Rat May Have the Secret to Avoid Spinal Cord Injuries
Wait, wait, wait. They BROKE THEIR BACKS!? Trust me, I'm the last person to go all PETA (once ate an ostrich purely out of spite), but how the hell could that be ethically kosher!?
Also, how did they come to this discovery?
"Oh, shit! We broke their backs!"
"Uh, oh."
"Shit, man, come on! What are we gonna do? If the boss finds out, we're gonna be fired like that!"
"Uh..."
"Come on, man! We gotta do something!"
"Let's inject them with Brilliant G, G!"
"...Blue dye? How's that gonna help!?"
"Well, they'll be blue. That'd be friggin hilarious!"
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Hi, I'm God promoted this comment general12345 was starred general12345 was unstarred

SuperFry
07/28/09

@general12345:
You do make a phenomenal point. Why should we break a rodent's back if it has the possibility to allow people to walk again. That's just stupid!

That's exactly like the people against stem cell research. We could save lives, but its unethical, oh well.
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Markarian
07/28/09

@general12345: It sounds horrific, messed up, and cruel. And don't get me wrong, it is. But this is what laboratory animals go through so that we can have modern medicine, unfortunately.

Spinal injuries aside, I totally want a blue rat now.
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etatauri
07/28/09

@general12345: are you suggesting we brake human backs? if you don't think this is ethically kosher you've obviously never seen any other experiments on animals. also you seem to lack any knowledge in scientific research - testing hypothesis not making wild guesses. Obviously someone did extensive research on the matter, maybe years before they finally got approval to test it. They don't just go scooping up field mice and bop 'em on the head.
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Ridley
07/28/09

@general12345: Actually most major spinal cord research is done on dogs. They will break the dogs neck, leave him on a table for his life until they can figure out how to fix it (and they never do). It sucks, but according to people in washignton its more "humane" than messing with single cell stem cells. But now things are slowly starting to change and people are more open to stem cell research for this kind of thing.
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blash
07/28/09

@general12345: Welcome to Modern Science. Unfortunately, we can't emulate biological processes or life itself in a computer yet. Something has to suffer for the march of progress.

Next thing you'll do is cry that the burger I'm eating used to be a living breathing cute little cow. Grow up.
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★_red3001
07/28/09

@Optimus-Prime: Yup, because killing people is much more ethical than killing animals. All in the name of science. People need to read up on adult stems cells. No loss of life, completely moral.

If you were not referring to embryo stems cells, please denote it.
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Edited by ★_red3001 at 07/28/09 9:48 AM ★_red3001 was starred ★_red3001 was unstarred

etwarrior
07/28/09

@★_red3001: And people need to read on on embryonic stem cells. For some reason a lot of people seem to be under the impression that a cluster of cells less advanced than a housefly is the same thing as a human that can feel and think. Bizarre.
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ludwigk
07/28/09

@general12345: Because these scientists are studying spinal injuries. If they were studying cancer, or brain injuries, they'd inflict that on the tiny creatures as well. The result? Improving the lives of thousands of people a year who would otherwise have permanent disabilities or terminal illnesses. It may seem cruel to you, but it is absolutely necessary to advance modern medicine.

So you can either reject it and its advances - literally returning to bronze age technology, or embrace it and thank god that someone has the vision to pursue this line of research.
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valkilmerisawful
07/28/09

@ludwigk: I like where you went with that. I had a difficult time in "Experimental Physiology" where I was expected to perform surgery and testing on live rats. The problem was, one may have the minimal skills required to pull an animal apart, but putting it back together, that's a different story. So, it's the long sleep for the little guys. No wonder they told us not to name them.

My Grandma said it was OK. And the worst thing she's ever done was throw moldy cheese off a balcony on a vacation to Aruba. Sooo ya... did you know that rats have three lobes to their liver, as opposed to two, like us?
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OrbitalGun
07/28/09

@general12345: Ever see what happens when an owl, falcon or other predatory bird gets ahold of a mouse? How about when it's caught by a regular ol' house cat? Tarantula?

Humans are no crueler than any other predator.
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balls187
07/28/09

@ludwigk: Because we've come so far with cancer and brain injuries right?
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balls187
07/28/09

@SuperFry: No, it's quite different, actually.

Cells cannot feel "pain."

Labrats, most assuredly do.
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balls187
07/28/09

@Markarian: And what have we achieved with "modern" medicine?

How many diseases can we cure? Sure we can treat all sorts, but none that are cured.
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Edited by balls187 at 07/28/09 7:30 PM balls187 was starred balls187 was unstarred

OrbitalGun
07/29/09

@balls187: }And what have we achieved with "modern" medicine? How many diseases can we cure? Sure we can treat all sorts, but none that are cured.{

...but we CAN treat them now, which we couldn't do before the research. Go ask someone with diabetes if they're glad we figured out insulin. It's not a cure, but I doubt you'll find many people who'd rather die than use it.
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