The placebo effect is way overstated in popular culture compared to what medicine has proven.

A recent cochrane review showed the only symptoms it had a large body of evidence showing it worked was “pain” and “nausea”, both things we do not know how to measure so they are by definition subjective and patient reported. The placebo effect changes remarkably little in the body, the changes being in the person’s perception.

No it’s not.

We usually have guidelines and protocols to follow which minimise the chance of harm and standardise care. Here we’re left with nothing, unsure what we’re allowed to do or not, unsure what we should do. There have already been multiple reports of mismanagement of pre-natal care resulting in deaths because of this.

Crispr is the exception:

1. it’s massively expensive
2. it can cure multiple illnesses and perform loads of other functions

Most proposals for cures are a fairly simple (and cheap) therapeutic target that will only work for one condition or even just a subset of cases within that condition.

That’s the lenient interpretation I’d hope.

But we’re not an alternative medicine group or anything. If you look into their shareholder meetings the public info seems to be that they judge whether investments are worth it by potential return on investment, and well a lifelong treatment is always going to be more profitable for them than a cure.

Completely true. But there would be fewer of them.

It’s crazy that when my research team comes up with a therapeutic target we believe might lead to curing a disease, we get crickets from drug companies. But when we present therapeutic targets for long term treatment, we get lots of interest.

Sounds like my colleagues. But since medicine is a hierarchical culture that values conformity over critical thought, that type of behaviour tends to actually work in favour of the person.

Although it’s true that nurses can have some fucked up beliefs, don’t underestimate doctors. Some of my colleagues are ableist, misogynistic, bigoted, power hungry, with a superiority complex. I think these are the kind of Gps and specialists making r/medicine so awful.

That aside, as a medical professional, I have to say r/medicine is such a cesspool of a subreddit, and I don’t say this lightly.

They regularly ridicule patients and specific conditions, harbour prejudiced views towards poor people and people from minority groups, and generally push pseudoscientific nonsense.

It’s a really disheartening subreddit to visit when you’ve got your patient’s best interests at heart.

Apart from that, I do agree with their view on UnitedHealth’s CEO.

In general it’s terrifying, we will need to be especially kind, helpful, and understanding to patients who risk losing disability benefits and similar through cuts. I don’t know how much we’ll be able to trust federal research either. I’m not too familiar with how the NIH etc is structured so I’m not sure how much RFK and Trump will be able to change things.

In my field I’m worried about a complete federal erasure of Long COVID, banishing it without funding and expertise in a sort of semi-recognised void. Clearly the incoming government does not want to acknowledge any negatives of COVID at all, and I’m worried it will lead to much suffering.

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if youve got to any, could you tell me what you think? It’s always useful to know what I should recommend to my patients to show their friends and family.

This channel has a bunch of short (5 mins long videos) about ME to educate people.

There’s also a slightly outdated (but still worth the watch) oscar nominated documentary about it, which has been made free and put on youtube recently It’s Unrest by Jennifer Brea

One of my patients also runs this excellent website with a bunch of resources about the disease.

I’m sorry I really shouldn’t be giving medical advice. It’s been a long time since I studied neurology. I’ve spent the past decade only on post viral diseases like ME.

But please please find yourself a doctor that listens and cares if that is possible. Because it clearly sounds like you need tests and you need a doc thats available for you. Maybe join some local MS support groups and ask if anyone has docs that do a really good job and try from there.

I’ll tell you this as a doctor. I would stay the hell away from some of my colleagues. Not every doctor is anywhere near good at their jobs. Some don’t care, some barely passed and don’t want to learn anything new, some like to always assume their patients have psychological problems. Find yourself a good doctor who is proactive and cares, and everything will be so much easier. Sending you good luck.

For you to help your friend. Or for your friend themselves?

Hopefully it’s something immunomodulators can fix. Fingers crossed.

Probably triggered. But we don’t really know.

Hey I’m a researcher who works on ME (in the past called CFS).

ME/CFS is currently classified as a disease/biological illness according to the CDC.

ME is a disease state in itself. We don’t know much about it, but it can’t be explained by other diagnoses, as the defining factor, neuro-immune abnormalities including immune activation showing up post exertion is unique to it. You’re completely right that we don’t yet have a reliable biomarker. We have a test that differentiates from healthy controls, but it was discontinued for ethical reasons because conducting the test leads to a sometimes permanent worsening of the illness.

In the past it’s been mixed up and jumbled a lot, but the picture is getting clearer.

There have been a few case reports of degenerative forms of the illness. But in general it takes a more classical relapsing remitting pattern. Although even in less bad stages some patients are severely functionally disabled, even bedridden and tubefed. It has a really wide range of severities with the least severely affected able to work part time and walk and travel, while the most severe might not even be able to communicate.

Couldn’t have said it better. And yes, science journalism often is basically repeating and dumbing down what a study says, but in science, and especially in medicine, a lot of studies tend to be wrong, make false assumptions, or overstate their findings, while journalists tend to take them for their word. There’s a reason you hear of a new cancer treatment in the news every other week but few actually make it past FDA approval.

I agree this meme is bullshit but you’re comparing two sources that shouldn’t be compared.

Your number for Gaza’s children is from the (hamas run) Gaza health ministry. While your number from Ukraine is from the UN has confirmed.

The Ukrainian government has a much higher estimate for dead children than the UN. And the UN has confirmed far far low children deaths than the gaza health ministry.

What? Initiated by Israel you mean?

Yeah a lot of people are ignoring Russian war crimes and I agree that’s a problem. But I don’t think you really understand what’s happening in Gaza given the meme you made.