The power of the placebo effect - Emma Bryce

Translator: Nika Kotnik Reviewer: Matej Divjak

In 1996, 56 volunteers took part in a study

Leta 1996 je 56 prostovoljcev sodelovalo v študiji,

to test a new painkiller called Trivaricaine.

kjer so testirali novo protibolečinsko zdravilo Trivaricaine.

On each subject, one index finger was covered in the new painkiller

Vsakemu so en kazalec prekrili z novim protibolečinskim zdravilom,

while the other remained untouched.

drugi pa je ostal nedotaknjen.

Then, both were squeezed in painful clamps.

Oba so nato stisnili z bolečimi kleščami.

The subjects reported that the treated finger hurt less than the untreated one.

Prostovoljci so poročali, da jih je kazalec z zdravilom bolel manj.

This shouldn't be surprising,

To ne bi smelo biti presenetljivo,

except Trivaricaine wasn't actually a painkiller,

ampak Trivaricaine v resnici ni bil protibolečinsko zdravilo,

just a fake concotion with no pain-easing properties at all.

samo lažna mešanica brez protibolečinskih lastnosti.

What made the students so sure this dummy drug had worked?

Zakaj so torej mislili, da to lažno zdravilo deluje?

The answer lies in the placebo effect,

Odgovor leži v placebo učinku,

an unexplained phenomenon

nepojasnjenem fenomenu,

wherein drugs, treatments, and therapies that aren't supposed to have an effect,

ko zdravila, zdravljenja in terapije, ki naj ne bi imele učinka

and are often fake,

in so pogosto lažne,

miraculously make people feel better.

čudežno pomagajo ljudem.

Doctors have used the term placebo since the 1700s

Zdravniki uporabljajo izraz placebo že od 17. stoletja,

when they realized the power of fake drugs to improve people's symptoms.

ko so spoznali moč lažnih zdravil, da olajšajo simptome.

These were administered when proper drugs weren't available,

Dali so jih, ko prava zdravila niso bila na voljo

or if someone imagined they were ill.

ali če si je nekdo domišljal, da je bolan.

In fact, the word placebo means "I shall please" in Latin,

Pravzaprav, beseda placebo v latinščini pomeni "ustregel bom",

hinting at a history of placating troubled patients.

kar namiguje na zgodovino pomirjanja nemirnih pacientov.

Placebos had to mimic the real treatments in order to be convincing,

Placebo je moral biti podoben pravim zdravilom, da bi bil prepričljiv,

so they took the form of sugar pills,

zato so bili v obliki sladkornih tablet,

water-filled injections,

z vodo napolnjenih injekcij,

and even sham surgeries.

in celo lažnih operacij.

Soon, doctors realized that duping people in this way had another use:

Kmalu so zdravniki spoznali, da ima tak način prevare tudi drugačno uporabo:

in clinical trials.

v kliničnih raziskavah.

By the 1950s, researchers were using placebos as a standard tool

V 50-ih so raziskovalci uporabljali placebo kot standardno orodje

to test new treatments.

za preizkušanje novih zdravil.

To evaluate a new drug, for instance,

Da so ocenili na primer novo zdravilo,

half the patients in a trial might receive the real pill.

je polovica bolnikov dobila pravo tableto.

The other half would get a placebo that looked the same.

Druga polovica je dobila placebo, ki je izgledal enako.

Since patients wouldn't know whether they'd received the real thing or a dud,

Ker bolniki niso vedeli ali so dobili pravo stvar ali ne,

the results wouldn't be biased,

rezultati ne bi bili pristranski, so verjeli raziskovalci.

researchers believed.

Then, if the new drug showed a significant benefit compared to the placebo,

Če je bilo novo zdravilo boljše od placeba,

it was proved effective.

je bilo potrjeno kot učinkovito.

Nowadays, it's less common to use placebos this way because of ethical concerns.

Danes je uporaba placeba manj pogosta zaradi etičnih zadržkov.

If it's possible to compare a new drug against an older version,

Če je možno primerjati novo zdravilo s starejšo različico,

or another existing drug,

ali z drugim obstoječim zdravilom,

that's preferable to simply giving someone no treatment at all,

je to boljše kot, da nekomu preprosto ne damo zdravila,

especially if they have a serious ailment.

še posebej, če so resno bolni.

In these cases, placebos are often used as a control to fine-tune the trial

V teh primerih se placebo pogosto uporablja kot nadzor umeritve,

so that the effects of the new versus the old or alternative drug

da so učinki novega proti staremu ali drugemu zdravilu

can be precisely compared.

lahko natančno primerjani.

Seveda vemo, da ima placebo tudi svoj učinek.

But of course, we know the placebos exert their own influence, too.

Thanks to the placebo effect,

Zahvaljujoč učinku placeba,

patients have experienced relief from a range of ailments,

bolniki občutijo olajšanje pri celem spektru težav

including heart problems,

vključno z boleznimi srca, astmo

asthma,

and severe pain,

in hudo bolečino,

čeprav so morda prejeli lažno zdravilo ali imeli lažno operacijo.

even though all they'd received was a fake drug or sham surgery.

We're still trying to understand how.

Še danes poskušamo razumeti, kako.

Some believe that instead of being real,

Nekateri verjamejo, da ni resničen

the placebo effect is merely confused with other factors,

in da je učinek placeba zamešan z drugimi faktorji,

like patients trying to please doctors by falsely reporting improvements.

kot ko pacienti skušajo ugoditi zdravnikom in lažno poročajo o izboljšanju.

Po drugi strani

On the other hand,

raziskovalci menijo, če oseba misli, da je lažno zdravljenje resnično,

researchers think that if a person believes a fake treatment is real,

their expectations of recovery actually do trigger physiological factors

njihovo pričakovanje ozdravitve sproži fiziološke faktorje,

that improve their symptoms.

ki izboljšajo njihove simptome.

Placebos seem to be capable of causing measurable change in blood pressure,

Placebo je očitno sposoben povzročiti spremembe v krvnem pritisku, bitju srca

heart rate,

and the release of pain-reducing chemicals, like endorphins.

in sproščanju protibolečinskih kemikalij, na primer endorfinov.

That explains why subjects in pain studies often say placebos ease their discomfort.

To pojasni, zakaj preiskovanci v študiji rečejo, da jim placebo zmanjša bolečino.

Placebos may even reduce levels of stress hormones,

Placebo lahko celo zniža raven stresnih hormonov,

like adrenaline,

naprimer adrenalina, kar lahko upočasni škodljive učinke bolezni.

which can slow the harmful effects of an ailment.

So shouldn't we celebrate the placebo's bizarre benefits?

Ne bi morali torej slaviti teh nenavadnih ugodnih učinkov placeba?

Not necessarily.

Ne nujno.

If somebody believes a fake treatment has cured them,

Če nekdo verjame, da ga je lažno zdravljenje pozdravilo,

they may miss out on drugs or therapies that are proven to work.

morda ne bodo dobili zdravil ali terapij, ki dokazano delujejo.

Plus, the positive effects may fade over time,

Plus, pozitivni učinki lahko sčasoma zbledijo

and often do.

in pogosto se to dejansko zgodi.

Placebos also cloud clinical results,

Placebo lahko zamegli klinične rezultate,

making scientists even more motivated to discover

kar znanstvenike še bolj motivira, da bi odkrili,

how they wield such power over us.

kakšno moč imajo nad nami.

Despite everything we know about the human body,

Kljub vsemu, kar vemo o človeškem telesu,

there are still some strange and enduring mysteries,

so tu še vedno nekatere nenavadne in vztrajne skrivnosti,

like the placebo effect.

kot je učinek placeba.

So what other undiscovered marvels might we contain?

Kakšna neodkrita čudesa še skrivamo v sebi?

It's easy to investigate the world around us

Zlahka raziskujemo svet okrog nas

and forget that one of its most fascinating subjects

in pozabimo, da eden izmed najbolj zanimivih subjektov,

lies right behind our eyes.

leži prav za našimi očmi.