{
  "abstract": "They say laughter is the best medicine … unless you have syphilis, in which case it’s penicillin. That joke is as old as penicillin itself, and as with all medicines it has been superseded by alternatives that may suit you better. My favourite comes courtesy of comedian and former psychiatric nurse Jo Brand: “Laughter may be the best medicine. But it doesn’t work terribly well for erectile dysfunction.” I doubt that gag has the same therapeutic benefit as those little blue diamonds, but used judiciously, there is evidence that comedy can improve health, particularly if it promotes “mirthful laughter” and doesn’t offend.12",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [],
      "name": "Phil Hammond"
    }
  ],
  "title": "The BMJ’s medics revue: Comedy as therapy",
  "uid": "0f8b8317-ea18-5827-a3f8-5aeb3dab7347"
}