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From: john@ur-tut.UUCP (John Gurian)
Newsgroups: net.med
Subject: Re: Vitamin C helps, but... (caveats)
Message-ID: <257@ur-tut.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 26-Nov-85 16:48:09 EST
Article-I.D.: ur-tut.257
Posted: Tue Nov 26 16:48:09 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 28-Nov-85 19:05:23 EST
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> 	3. The protection is strongest in children.  It is slightly weaker but
> still statistically significant in adult women. However, in adult males, 
> Vitamin C gives results indistinguishable from placebo.  Trasnslation: it
> doesn't work.

This poses an interesting question.  Presumably, the results for placebo and
Vit C, while still the same, were still better than without either.  So, if the
user really believes in the Vit C, he is probably going to feel better if he
takes it compared to if he doesn't.  Translation: it doesn't work, but the
patient thinks he feels better, so why not?

Incidently, no one has ever proved the familar anti-diarrheal, Kaopectate, works
clinically, indeed pharmacologically there is no reason why it should, but it
continues to sell very well anyway because people think it works, & MD's 
order it for their patients 'cause their patients think it works, and everyone's
happy, more or less.

John Gurian
Univ. Rochester School of Medicine
seismo!rochester!ur-tut!john