Fabrizio Benedetti – författare

Two of the most widely used terms in medicine are 'placebo' and placebo effect, even though it is not always clear what exactly they mean. Recent progress in biomedical research has allowed a better clarification of the placebo effect. We now know that this is an active psychobiological phenomenon which takes place in the patient's brain and that is capable of influencing both the course of a disease and the response to a therapy. Placebo Effects (3e) is a significantly updated and expanded new edition of a highly successful and critically acclaimed textbook on placebos. It is the first book to emphasize that there are many placebo effects and reviews them critically in different medical conditions, such as neurological and psychiatric disorders, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, immune and hormonal responses, as well as oncology, surgery, sports medicine and acupuncture. In addition, it looks at the psychosocial context, which is considered crucial to the placebo effect. For example what the doctor says to the patient, as well as their attitude, can greatly influence the placebo effect. Exhaustive in its coverage, and written by a world authority in the field, this is the definitive reference textbook on the placebo effect - one that is essential for researchers and clinicians across a wide range of medical specialities.

There is a vast literature on what has often been called the doctor-patient relationship, patient-provider interaction, therapist-patient encounter, and such like. However, it is thanks to recent advances within neuroscience, that we now find ourselves in a much better position to be able to describe and discuss the biological mechanisms that underlie the doctor-patient relationship. For example, we now know that different physiological and biochemical mechanisms take part in complex functions, like trust, hope, empathy and compassion, which are all key elements in the therapist-patient encounter. With this neuroscientific knowledge in their hands, health professionals will soon be able to directly see how their words, attitudes, and behaviours activate and inactivate molecules, cortical areas, and sensory systems in the brains of their patients. This revolutionary new book describes and explains how this new scientific knowledge can be put to great practical use. It shows how, from a neuroscientific perspective, the doctor-patient relationship can be subdivided into at least four steps: feeling sick, seeking relief, meeting the therapist, and receiving therapy. The main advantage to approaching the doctor-patient relationship from a neuroscientific perspective is that physicians, psychologists and health professionals can better understand what kind of changes they can induce in their patients' brains, further boosting the professional's empathic and compassionate behaviour. Written by the author of the critically acclaimed 'Placebo Effects', this book will lead to a better awareness of the potential power that the doctor's behaviour may have on the patient's behaviour and capacity for recovery from illness, as well as to better medical practice and social/communication skills. It will be required reading for physicians, psychotherapists, and neuroscientists.

Placebo Effects in Neurology delves into the intriguing phenomenon of placebos and their profound impact on neurological disorders. This book explores how placebo effects, occurring both in clinical trials and real-world practice, influence therapeutic outcomes, doctor-patient relationships, and symptom perception. The content provides insights into psychobiological mechanisms and specific conditions such as Parkinson’s disease and migraine while addressing ethical and methodological concerns. With discussions on both deceptive and open-label placebos, the book invites readers to reconsider the potential of this underappreciated tool in neurology, offering a bridge between scientific research and practical application in the treatment of various conditions.Beyond its focus on placebo mechanisms, the book examines their role in alleviating symptoms of neuropathic pain, peripheral neuropathies, fatigue, and neuropsychiatric disorders like depression and anxiety. It also presents a methodological lens on how placebos are used to validate treatments in trials while debating their ethical implications. By weaving together science, ethics, and practical insights, Placebo Effects in Neurology stands out as a compelling resource for clinicians, researchers, and anyone interested in the nuanced intersection of psychology and neurology.Reviews placebo effects for individual neurological and psychiatric disordersCovers benefits in therapeutic outcomes, symptom perception, and doctor-patient relationshipsDiscusses the psychobiological mechanisms of how placebos workConsiders minimizing placebo and nocebo effects in clinical trials

In this issue of Neurologic Clinics, guest editors Drs. Aziz Shaibani and Fabrizio Benedetti bring their considerable expertise to the topic of Placebo Responses in Neurologic Clinical Trials. Top experts discuss the placebo response (not just the placebo effect) across a variety of neurologic clinical trials, providing an important overview of the occurrence and magnitude of the placebo response in different neurologic disorders. This issue offers key information for clinical trials in neurology as well as for clinical practice.

This book discusses the role of placebos and nocebos in the treatment of headache disorders. These disorders are usually treatable, but safety and tolerability issues mean that available preventive treatments have often limited success, even in the right hands – one in five patients treated with a migraine preventive pharmaceutical agent discontinues treatment for those reasons. The nocebo effect plays a role here, with patients’ negative expectation and previous unpleasant treatment experiences creating negative belief in the treatment’s benefits and safety, which in turn limits treatment outcomes and adherence significantly. In RCTs on migraine prevention, one in 20 patients treated with a placebo discontinued treatment because of adverse events, indicating a considerable nocebo effect; the fewer potential adverse events described in the consent form, the smaller the nocebo effect. As such, physicians treating headache sufferers should acknowledge nocebo as a significant cofactorfor treatment adherence and failure, and plan techniques to limit the effects, such as patient education and close follow-up. This highly informative and painstakingly presented book provides scientific insights for professionals and scholars with an interest in internal medicine, neurology and pain medicine.

Due to the recent explosion of placebo research at many levels the Editors believe that a volume on Placebo would be a good addition to the Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology series. In particular, this volume will be built up on a meeting on Placebo which will be held in Tuebingen (Germany) in January 2013, and where the most prominent researchers in this field will present and exchange their ideas. The authors who will be invited to write chapters for this volume will be the very same speakers at this meeting, thus guaranteeing high standard and excellence in the topic that will be treated. The approach of the book is mainly pharmacological, including basic research and clinical trials, and the contents range from different medical conditions and systems, such as pain and the immune system, to different experimental approaches, like in vivo receptor binding and pharmacological/behavioral conditioning. Overall, the volume will give an idea of modern placebo research, of timely concepts in both experimental and clinical pharmacology, as well as of modern methods and tools in neuroscience.