Biomaterial Database

[On circadian variations of the placebo effect on the pain threshold of healthy teeth: Contribution to a physiology of placebo effects (author's transl)]. 1979

L Pöllmann, and G Hildebrandt

Placebo doses can influence the pain threshold of healthy teeth according to the label. Systematic longitudinal researches over the day with measuring the utilization time of cold stimulus on healthy front teeth demonstrate that the placebo effect is subject to significant circadian variations. During daytime a pseudo-analgesic causes a stronger and steeper onset of increase of the tooth pain threshold than during the night, when the pain threshold is influenced only minimal or even inverse. The placebo effect can come up to 40% of the pain threshold increase caused by a usual analgesic; this portion, however, is as well subject to high circadian variations. The extent of the placebo effect corresponds to the order of magnitude of the spontaneous circadian variations of pain threshold and correlates positively to it. These correlations are considered as indicating that those vegetative mechanisms causing the circadian variations of the pain threshold are equally involved in affecting the placebo actions.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008297	Male		Males
D010146	Pain	An unpleasant sensation induced by noxious stimuli which are detected by NERVE ENDINGS of NOCICEPTIVE NEURONS.	Suffering, Physical,Ache,Pain, Burning,Pain, Crushing,Pain, Migratory,Pain, Radiating,Pain, Splitting,Aches,Burning Pain,Burning Pains,Crushing Pain,Crushing Pains,Migratory Pain,Migratory Pains,Pains, Burning,Pains, Crushing,Pains, Migratory,Pains, Radiating,Pains, Splitting,Physical Suffering,Physical Sufferings,Radiating Pain,Radiating Pains,Splitting Pain,Splitting Pains,Sufferings, Physical
D010919	Placebos	Any dummy medication or treatment. Although placebos originally were medicinal preparations having no specific pharmacological activity against a targeted condition, the concept has been extended to include treatments or procedures, especially those administered to control groups in clinical trials in order to provide baseline measurements for the experimental protocol.	Sham Treatment
D002940	Circadian Rhythm	The regular recurrence, in cycles of about 24 hours, of biological processes or activities, such as sensitivity to drugs or environmental and physiological stimuli.	Diurnal Rhythm,Nyctohemeral Rhythm,Twenty-Four Hour Rhythm,Nycthemeral Rhythm,Circadian Rhythms,Diurnal Rhythms,Nycthemeral Rhythms,Nyctohemeral Rhythms,Rhythm, Circadian,Rhythm, Diurnal,Rhythm, Nycthemeral,Rhythm, Nyctohemeral,Rhythm, Twenty-Four Hour,Rhythms, Circadian,Rhythms, Diurnal,Rhythms, Nycthemeral,Rhythms, Nyctohemeral,Rhythms, Twenty-Four Hour,Twenty Four Hour Rhythm,Twenty-Four Hour Rhythms
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D012684	Sensory Thresholds	The minimum amount of stimulus energy necessary to elicit a sensory response.	Sensory Threshold,Threshold, Sensory,Thresholds, Sensory
D014070	Tooth	One of a set of bone-like structures in the mouth used for biting and chewing.	Teeth
D014098	Toothache	Pain in the adjacent areas of the teeth.	Odontalgia,Odontalgias,Toothaches