For decades, research physicians have furrowed their brows at the mysterious powers of a treatment known in many medical circles as Obecalp.
In clinical studies, Obecalp has been shown to have occasionally remarkable effects -- and on a remarkable range of maladies. In one 2002 study at UCLA, one-third of patients reported relief from symptoms of depression (and had changes in brain function that reflected that improvement) when treated with Obecalp. Patients with Parkinson's disease have observed their tremors decrease, those with chronic aches have felt their pain ease and hypertensive patients have seen their blood pressure fall -- all in response to Obecalp. Medical journals are filled with testimonials to the frequency with which Obecalp, often administered at little or no cost, can improve patients' health.
Now, as a recent study published in the Archives of General Internal Medicine found, physicians on the front lines of patient care are reaching for the power of Obecalp -- a backward spelling of the word "placebo" -- with surprising frequency, and for different reasons, than patients might suspect.
In a survey published in the January issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine, about 45% of Chicago-area physicians responding acknowledged that they have treated patients with a placebo. Almost 1 in 4 of those responding had offered a placebo to at least one patient in the last year, and 8% said they had resorted to treatment with a placebo more than 10 times in the last year.
Placebo treatments, as defined by the researchers and the doctors they surveyed, go well beyond the popular notion of placebo as a "sugar pill." Some physicians do write a prescription for a capsule filled with inert ingredients: a classic "dummy pill" called Cebocap that comes in three colors. (The blue capsules listed as Cebocap No. 1 on the Walgreen's pharmacy website are reputed to be "extra potent," according to the website Over My Med Body, which is frequented by physicians in training.)
But placebo treatments might also include a prescription for an antibiotic when a viral infection is suspected, or an extremely low dose of some long-used pharmaceutical agent. They might be a vitamin supplement, a meditation class or directions to spend a little more time in the fresh air. In short, they're simply treatments that might have an effect on the patient -- but for no clear biological reason.
