biological approach to treating OCD

Question 1

what do drug therapies do?

Answer 1

drug therapy for mental disorders aims to increase/decrease levels of neurotransmitters in the brain, or to increase/decrease their activity

Question 2

how does a normally functioning serotonin system work?

Answer 2

presynaptic neuron release serotonin
S travels across a synapse
S chemically conveys the signal from the presynaptic neuron to the postsynaptic neuron
then it is reabsorbed by the presynaptic neuron where it is broken down and re-used

Question 3

what do SSRIs do?

selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors

Answer 3

standard medical treatment for OCD
prevents the re-absorption and breakdown of serotonin- effectively increasing its levels in the synapse and thus continue to stimulate the postsynaptic neuron
compensates for abnormal functioning of SS in OCD.

e.g. Sertraline

Question 4

combining SSRIs with other treatments

Answer 4

often used alongside CBT to treat OCD
drugs reduce emotional symptoms (e.g. anxiety) so they can engage more effectively with CBT
some respond best to CBT alone, others benefit more from SSRIs like Fluoxetine

Question 5

alternatives to SSRIs

Answer 5

each patient responds differently
dose can be increased if not effective after 3-4 months or it can be combined with other drugs
sometimes diff antidepressants are tried

Tricyclics- same effect on SS as SSRIs, more severe side-effects

SNRIs (serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors)- increase serotonin levels as well as noradrenaline levels

Question 6

strength- evidence for effectiveness

Answer 6

Soomro- reviewed studies comparing SSRIs to placebos
all 17 studies showed significantly better results for the SSRIs
greatest effectiveness when combined with treatments like CBT

symptoms usually decline significantly for around 70% of patients taking SSRIs

strength- drugs can help most patients with OCD, improve QoL, reduces strain on NHS, etc.

Question 7

advantage- cost-effective and non-disruptive

Answer 7

cheap compared to psychological treatments
good value for NHS- reduces strain

less disruptive to patients’ lives than therapies
don’t have to engage with hard work of psychological therapy

advantage- drug treatments benefit both doctors and patients, highly valuable

Question 8

issue- side-effects

Answer 8

SSRIs have side-effects e.g. indigestion, blurred vision and lowered libido
(usually temporary)

Clomipramine- side-effects more common and serious
more than 1 in 10 suffer tremors and weight gain
more than 1 in 100 suffer disruption to blood pressure and heart rhythm

issue- reduces effectiveness bc can cause some to stop taking medication, wastes NHS resources and money, can worsen QoL

Question 9

problem- unreliable evidence for drug treatments

Answer 9

some psychologists believe that the evidence favouring drug treatments is biased- sponsored by drug companies who do not report all the evidence

problem- unable to know if data on effectiveness of drugs is trustworthy, companies may be suppressing evidence

Question 10

weakness- can it help cases of OCD that follow trauma?

Answer 10

makes sense for drug treatments to treat OCD cases that are biological in origin

in some cases it develops as a response to traumatic events
drugs may not be appropriate for these patients

weakness- drugs used indiscriminately, should instead consider origins of condition