Patients tend to think that an expensive drug is more effective than a cheap one, which directly affects the effectiveness of their treatment, according to a study.
The more expensive, the better: this is what most patients think when buying a drug. An erroneous perception, which nevertheless influences the direct effectiveness of the treatment. In question: a reinforced placebo effect, boosted by the idea that for a tablet to work, you have to pay a price.
Salt water, effective when it is expensive
To reach this conclusion, which should make the pharmaceutical industry happy, American researchers from the University of Cincinnati (Ohio) tested 12 people with Parkinson’s disease. The results of their study were published in the journal Neurology.
In the first group, they administered a drug valued at $ 1,500, against $ 100 for the second. Previously, scientists took care to specify that the two treatments had the same effectiveness and that only the manufacturing processes were different. Except that the injections actually contained nothing but saline. But this the patients ignored.
Their reaction indeed confirms the placebo effect of an expensive drug. The first group improved their motor skills by 28% compared to the second group. On one of the exercises, the score of the patients who received an “expensive” injection improved by seven points, against only three for the group who received a “cheap” injection. All this, just with a little salt water …
Generics shunned because not expensive enough?
Once the doldrums were discovered, the majority of patients confirmed that they had a favorable perception of expensive drugs. But all expressed surprise at the impact of this belief on the effectiveness of the treatment.
Note that people with Parkinson’s are particularly sensitive to the placebo effect. Studies have shown that the psychic action of drugs generates an increase in dopamine in the brain, which directly influences movement.
“Despite its limitations, this study opens our eyes to another aspect of the placebo effect, with strong implications for clinical practice, research and health policy,” concludes Alberto Espay, of the University. of Cincinnati. These results could also explain why the French shun generic drugs and rely more on originator drugs, despite multiple promotional campaigns aimed at reassuring patients.
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