Biological treatments Flashcards
What is the most common treatment for schizophrenia?
The common treatment is antipsychotics
What can antipsychotics divided into?
Typical antipsychotics (traditional) and Atypical antipsychotics (second - generation)
What is a example of a typical antipsychotic drug?
Chlorpromazine
How does chlorpromazine work in the dopamine system?
Chlorpromazine acts as a dopamine antagonist by blocking dopamine receptors in the brain’s synapses, reducing dopamine’s action and normalising neurotransmission in key areas
What is the dopamine hypothesis in relation to schizophrenia?
The dopamine hypothesis suggests that reducing dopamine activity in key brain areas can alleviate symptoms like hallucinations in schizophrenia
What sedative properties does chlorpromazine have, and what are they related to?
Chlorpromazine has sedative properties, believed to be linked to its effect on histamine receptors.
In what situation is chlorpromazine used as a sedative?
Chlorpromazine is used to calm anxious patients, especially during hospital admissions and it is effective for sedation in both schizophrenia and other conditions
What is are two examples of atypical antipsychotics?
Clozapine and Risperidone
Why was Clozapine withdrawn from markets, what risks come with taking the drug?
Clozapine was withdrawn because it posed a life threatening risk of a blood condition. This meant even when people were taking the medication, they had to have regular blood tests to ensure they were not developing a condition
How does clozapine and risperidone work?
They bind to dopamine and serotonin receptors, helping to reduce depression and anxiety
What makes risperidone different to clozapine?
Risperidone has stronger binding to dopamine than clozapine, allowing effectiveness at smaller doses and potentially fewer side effects compared to clozapine life threatening risks from intake.
What is a strength of biological treatments? (appropriate - motivation/cost)
Antipsychotics are a cheap form of treatment to produce and prove easy to administer, they allow patients to relatively normal lives, outside of mental institutions.
This option of treatment is appropriate, due to it cheapness and the lack of motivation required from the sufferer.
Antipsychotics allow patients easy access to good healthcare at an affordable price and the flexibility in the form in which the treatment can be taken, whether liquid, tablet or injection form provides the patient with further convenience.
What is a limitation of biological treatments? (appropriate - motivation/side effects)
Typical antipsychotics incur side effects such as muscle tremors.
On the other hand, atypical antipsychotics reduce these problems, but incur serious side effects of their own.
These can side effects can be fatal, like sudden cardiac death. Due to the side effects, patients generally stop using them.
This shows antipsychotics can be an inappropriate treatment option, requiring high levels of motivation from the sufferer.
Another problem with this treatment is the high relapse rates, which are around 40% in the first year after treatment
This raises issues into the appropriateness and effectiveness of antipsychotic use.
Both options cause severe side effects that mean the level of motivation required from the sufferer is high for treatment
Additionally, the high relapse rate suggests low effectivity in the long run
What is a limitation of biological treatments? (ethical issues + appropriate - motivation)
Critics have argued that antipsychotics have been, and can be used in hospital settings inappropriately.
Antipsychotics have sedative properties, thus are used to calm patients and make them “easier” to work with.
It can be argued these reasons for antipsychotic use are unjust, showing a disregard for patient care.
Although short - term use of antipsychotics to calm agitated patients is recommended by NICE, this practice is seen as a humans right abuse.
This challenges the appropriateness of antipsychotics for wider population use, as it can be assumed in the wrong hands antipsychotics could cause more harm, than good
What is a strength of biological treatments? (meta - analysis + effectiveness)
A psychologist performed a meta - analysis of more than 100 studies that comap[red antipsychotics with placebos. Over 70% of sufferers treated with antipsychotics improved, while fewer than 25% improved with placebos. This research shows how effective antipsychotics can be for people with schizophrenia
