My interest arose out of my early work on the placebo effect in chronic pain.

FORBES: Catherine Kerr on the Science of Meditation

Another side effect of chronic heartburn is a condition known as Barrett's esophagus, which happens when there's a change in the cells of the tissue lining the bottom of the esophagus.

FORBES: Be Cool About Heartburn

But early studies reporting positive results for the vertebroplasty procedure did not have control groups, making it unclear whether the purported benefits were simply due to the placebo effect or the natural tendency of chronic pain to subside over time.

FORBES: Magazine Article