Neurons slow down for placebo effect
By Bruce Bower
Inert substances used as sham medications, or placebos, temporarily benefit some people with Parkinson’s disease by easing the activity of brain cells that contribute to their condition, according to a new trial.
A research team led by Fabrizio Benedetti of the University of Turin Medical School in Italy first gave 11 Parkinson’s patients injections of a medication that briefly quelled muscle rigidity and related symptoms. The drug, apomorphine, raises brain concentrations of dopamine, a brain-signal transmitter.