[From Robert Kosara, 970402.2145 MET]
I just saw a short documentary on how to treat warts. One of the simpler
methods is to make people believe they were treated by simulating
ray-treatments, for example, or by prescribing placebos.
More generally, it seems that placebos (medicaments or treatments) help
the patient set a reference value that stands for 'no disease'. And it is
known (although perhaps not scientifically tested) that picturing
him-/herself as healthy can improve a patient's response to treatment.
I wonder if there are mechanisms in the body that can correct such an
error signal between the 'no wart' reference level and the perceived (and
existing) wart. How do they associate the knowledge of the wart with a
certain reaction of the immune system?
And what does that tell us about old people's homes? When people have
nothing to do, no relatives and no friends, how long will their reference
levels remain at 'live' before they will move towards 'don't live'? I
wonder if there has been any research about the difference in life
expectancy between inmates of old people's homes and people living at
home.
This may not be very scientific, but it is of some social importance.
Robert
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