Spontaneous remission

{{Altmed}}'''Spontaneous remission''' (also known as '''spontaneous improvement''' or '''spontaneous regression''') is a phenomenon in which an untreated disease or condition suddenly disappears for no apparent reason. It is a [[regression to the mean]] as applied to health conditions. Along with [[misdiagnosis]], this is one of the ways in which [[alternative medicine]] can seem to cure diseases such as [[cancer]], and why [[anecdotal evidence]] is not reliable.<ref>[http://www.acampbell.org.uk/essays/skeptic/miraculouscures.html Apparently Miraculous Cures: What Do They Tell Us?]</ref>

==Examples for various diseases==
The spontaneous remission rates for cancer depend on the type: according to studies done, basal cell carcinoma and breast [[cancer]] disappear in up to 20% of cases, while the rates for melanoma haven't been studied, but have been estimated to be around 10%-20%.<ref>[http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/content/93/14/1047.full Spontaneous Regression of Melanoma May Offer Insight Into Cancer Immunology], Carrie Printz, ''J. Natl. Cancer Inst.'' (2001) 93 (14): 1047-1048.</ref><ref>[http://dartmed.dartmouth.edu/spring09/html/disc_remission.php Study reveals surprising cancer remission rate], ''Dartmouth Medicine Magazine''.</ref>
Autoimmune hepatitis goes into spontaneous remission in 13%-20% of cases.<ref>[http://www.mdguidelines.com/hepatitis-chronic Hepatitis Chronic &mdash; Medical Disability Guidelines]</ref>

Untreated tuberculosis goes away in approximately 29% of cases.<ref>[http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2334/9/87 How to optimize tuberculosis case finding: explorations for Indonesia with a health system model], BMC Infectious Diseases 2009, 9:87 doi:10.1186/1471-2334-9-87.</ref><ref>[http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0017601 Natural History of Tuberculosis: Duration and Fatality of Untreated Pulmonary Tuberculosis in HIV Negative Patients: A Systematic Review], ''PLoS ONE'' 6(4): e17601. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0017601.</ref> About 65%-75% of people with invasive group A streptococcal infections live.<ref>[http://www.hpa.org.uk/webw/HPAweb&Page&HPAwebAutoListDate/Page/1202487092166?p=1202487092166 HPA &mdash; FAQs &mdash; Group A streptococcal infections]</ref>

Diabetes can also undergo spontaneous remission, though the rates are unknown.<ref>[http://press.endocrine.org/doi/pdf/10.1210/jcem-6-5-369 RECURRENT DIABETES: SPONTANEOUS REMISSIONS AND EXACERBATIONS], B. Y. Glassberg, M.D.</ref><ref>[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1578128/?page=1 Spontaneous Remission of Diabetes], R. B. Haining and R. G. Haining.</ref>

==Misdiagnosis==
Misdiagnosis can interfere with recorded remission rates. [[Malaria]] misdiagnosis, for instance, is a problem in [[Asia]] and [[Africa]].<ref name=bmj>[http://www.bmj.com/content/345/bmj.e4389 Overdiagnosis and mistreatment of malaria among febrile patients at primary healthcare level in Afghanistan: observational study], Toby Leslie, Amy Mikhail, Ismail Mayan, Mohammed Anwar, Sayed Bakhtash, Mohammed Nader, Clare Chandler, Christopher J M Whitty, Mark Rowland,
''BMJ'' 2012;345:e4389.</ref><ref>[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15177148 Symptom overlap for malaria and pneumonia&mdash;policy implications for home management strategies], Källander K, Nsungwa-Sabiiti J, Peterson S., ''Acta Trop.'' 2004 Apr;90(2):211-4.</ref><ref>[http://www.news-medical.net/news/20120726/Malaria-misdiagnosis-an-interview-with-Dr-Toby-Leslie.aspx Malaria misdiagnosis: an interview with Dr Toby Leslie], July 26, 2012.</ref> In one study, out of 414 patients going to hospitals using clinical diagnosis, 412 were prescribed anti-malarial drugs, even though 413 tested negative for malaria.<ref name=bmj/>

[[Alternative medicine]] promoters often claim that misdiagnosis (esp. of ADD/[[ADHD]]) is another way [[Big Pharma]] pushes its drugs on people.<Ref>[http://www.conspiracyplanet.com/channel.cfm?channelid=55&contentid=7153&page=2 Conspiracy Planet: ''ADHD Conspiracy-Scam: Million US Kids Misdiagnosed'']</ref><ref>[http://www.naturalnews.com/030580_ADHD_children.html Natural News:One million children misdiagnosed with ADHD]</ref>

==See also==
*[[Placebo effect]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Medicine]] [[Category:Biology]] [[category:Alternative medicine]]
[[Category:Arguments against evidence-based medicine]]

Categories: Medicine, Biology, Alternative medicine, Arguments against evidence-based medicine