Does the Understanding of Placebo Mechanisms Compensate for the Loss of Efficacy Associated With Open Label Placebo

NCT ID: NCT03934138

Last Updated: 2019-05-16

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

UNKNOWN

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

126 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2019-05-03

Study Completion Date

2020-09-01

Brief Summary

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The investigators are investigating whether, when given detailed information about underlying placebo mechanisms and pain, subjects will have a response similar to that of those subjected to a procedure in which they receive a conventional placebo treatment (associated with deception).

STUDY DESIGN: This is a non-inferior parallel, controlled and randomized, single blind trial.

POPULATION: The investigators will include in the study 126 subjects without known pathology. Participants will then be divided into 2 groups on a randomized basis.

METHODOLOGY: Each subject will undergo three sessions of Cold Pressure Test (CPT), a cold pain stimulation method: calibration, condition of interest (conventional placebo or educated placebo) and control. The investigators' main judgment criterion is be the difference in pain intensity experienced on the visual analog scale between the CPT control and the CPT under the condition of interest.

This study will allow the investigators to rule on the non-inferiority of an educated open label placebo compared to a conventional placebo in the context of an acute painful stimulation.

Detailed Description

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Conditions

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Acute Pain

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

2 groups : Educated open label placebo And Conventional placebo

Each of the subjects will undergo the Cold Pressure text procedure under the condition of interest and a control.
Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

SINGLE

Participants
Only the subjects in the the conventional placebo group will be masked. In the educated open label placebo group, subjects will be aware that the cream is inert.

Study Groups

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Educated open label placebo

These subjects will undergo all the same procedures as in the control group. But before the placebo CTP, they will watch a short movie explaining placebo mechanisms. While applying the placebo cream, they will be told that the cream is inert (placebo), efficient to decrease pain caused by cold and the mechanisms seen in the movie will take place.

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Educational movie on placebo mechanisms

Intervention Type OTHER

Educational movie on placebo mechanisms : animated video, duration : 12 minutes.

It will be followed by the CPTs : experimentally induced pain by keeping the non dominant hand in cold water (1° Celsius) for a limited time. The duration of immersion is personal and calibrated to be around to ensure that the intensity of pain will be homogeneous (around 7/10 on the visual analogue scale with no treatment)

Conventional placebo

These subjects will watch a video on hand washing. While applying the placebo cream, they will be told that this cream is effective to decreased pain caused by cold.

Group Type PLACEBO_COMPARATOR

Informative movie on hand washing

Intervention Type OTHER

Animated video, duration : 11 minutes. It will be followed by the CPTs : experimentally induced pain by keeping the non dominant hand in cold water (1° Celsius) for a limited time. The duration of immersion is personal and calibrated to be around to ensure that the intensity of pain will be homogeneous (around 7/10 on the visual analogue scale with no treatment).

Interventions

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Educational movie on placebo mechanisms

Educational movie on placebo mechanisms : animated video, duration : 12 minutes.

It will be followed by the CPTs : experimentally induced pain by keeping the non dominant hand in cold water (1° Celsius) for a limited time. The duration of immersion is personal and calibrated to be around to ensure that the intensity of pain will be homogeneous (around 7/10 on the visual analogue scale with no treatment)

Intervention Type OTHER

Informative movie on hand washing

Animated video, duration : 11 minutes. It will be followed by the CPTs : experimentally induced pain by keeping the non dominant hand in cold water (1° Celsius) for a limited time. The duration of immersion is personal and calibrated to be around to ensure that the intensity of pain will be homogeneous (around 7/10 on the visual analogue scale with no treatment).

Intervention Type OTHER

Other Intervention Names

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Cold Pressure Test (CPT) Cold Pressure Test (CPT)

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Person affiliated to Social Security
* Informed consent, written and signed by the subject.

Exclusion Criteria

* Persons referred to in Articles L1121-5 to L1121-8 of the Public Health Code (CSP), which corresponds to all protected persons: pregnant women, parturient women, nursing mothers, persons deprived of their liberty by judicial or administrative decision, persons subject to a legal protection measure, cannot be included in clinical trials.
* Persons with a pathology against indicating the use of CPT experimentally induced pain :
* Any pathologies affecting the venous, arterial or lymphatic system
* Diabetes
* Cardiac disorders
* Asthma
* Frostbite
* Epilepsy
* Arthritis
* Lupus erythematosus
* Allergy to Cremafluid® cream
* Person with concomitant treatment that modifies sensitivity to pain, chronic or acute at the time of the experiment, such as analgesics, psychotropic drugs or anti-inflammatories.
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

40 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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Laboratoire TIMC-IMAG

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

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Leo DRUART

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

TIMC IMAG Thémas team

SaraEve GRAHAM LONGSWORTH

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

TIMC IMAG Thémas team

Nicolas PINSAULT

Role: STUDY_DIRECTOR

TIMC IMAG Thémas team

Locations

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Leo Druart

Grenoble, , France

Site Status RECRUITING

Saraeve Graham Longsworth

Grenoble, , France

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

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France

Central Contacts

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Nicolas PINSAULT

Role: CONTACT

04 76 76 52 56

Carole ROLLAND

Role: CONTACT

04 76 76 69 03

References

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Kaptchuk TJ, Friedlander E, Kelley JM, Sanchez MN, Kokkotou E, Singer JP, Kowalczykowski M, Miller FG, Kirsch I, Lembo AJ. Placebos without deception: a randomized controlled trial in irritable bowel syndrome. PLoS One. 2010 Dec 22;5(12):e15591. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0015591.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 21203519 (View on PubMed)

Locher C, Frey Nascimento A, Kirsch I, Kossowsky J, Meyer A, Gaab J. Is the rationale more important than deception? A randomized controlled trial of open-label placebo analgesia. Pain. 2017 Dec;158(12):2320-2328. doi: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000001012.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 28708766 (View on PubMed)

Benedetti F, Carlino E, Pollo A. How placebos change the patient's brain. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2011 Jan;36(1):339-54. doi: 10.1038/npp.2010.81. Epub 2010 Jun 30.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 20592717 (View on PubMed)

Benedetti F, Amanzio M. Mechanisms of the placebo response. Pulm Pharmacol Ther. 2013 Oct;26(5):520-3. doi: 10.1016/j.pupt.2013.01.006. Epub 2013 Jan 28.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 23370213 (View on PubMed)

Colloca L, Howick J. Placebos Without Deception: Outcomes, Mechanisms, and Ethics. Int Rev Neurobiol. 2018;138:219-240. doi: 10.1016/bs.irn.2018.01.005. Epub 2018 Apr 4.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 29681327 (View on PubMed)

Voudouris NJ, Peck CL, Coleman G. The role of conditioning and verbal expectancy in the placebo response. Pain. 1990 Oct;43(1):121-128. doi: 10.1016/0304-3959(90)90057-K.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 2277714 (View on PubMed)

Pecina M, Zubieta JK. Expectancy Modulation of Opioid Neurotransmission. Int Rev Neurobiol. 2018;138:17-37. doi: 10.1016/bs.irn.2018.02.003. Epub 2018 Apr 2.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 29681324 (View on PubMed)

Mitchell LA, MacDonald RA, Brodie EE. Temperature and the cold pressor test. J Pain. 2004 May;5(4):233-7. doi: 10.1016/j.jpain.2004.03.004.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 15162346 (View on PubMed)

Streff A, Kuehl LK, Michaux G, Anton F. Differential physiological effects during tonic painful hand immersion tests using hot and ice water. Eur J Pain. 2010 Mar;14(3):266-72. doi: 10.1016/j.ejpain.2009.05.011. Epub 2009 Jun 21.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 19540783 (View on PubMed)

Carvalho C, Caetano JM, Cunha L, Rebouta P, Kaptchuk TJ, Kirsch I. Open-label placebo treatment in chronic low back pain: a randomized controlled trial. Pain. 2016 Dec;157(12):2766-2772. doi: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000000700.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 27755279 (View on PubMed)

Druart L, Graham Longsworth S, Rolland C, Dolgopoloff M, Terrisse H, Bosson JL, Pinsault N. Can an Open-Label Placebo Be as Effective as a Deceptive Placebo? Methodological Considerations of a Study Protocol. Medicines (Basel). 2020 Jan 2;7(1):3. doi: 10.3390/medicines7010003.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 31906435 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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2017-A01643-50

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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