BIOLOGICAL TREATMENTS FOR OCD

Question 1

What are SSRI’s?

Answer 1

• A class of anti-depressants, used to treat depression, anxiety and OCD. It works by blocking the reuptake of serotonin in the brain, increasing its levels in the synaptic cleft, thus improving mood.

Examples= Fluoxetine/ Sertraline

Question 2

How do SRRI’s work?

Answer 2

• Works by blocking the reuptake of serotonin in the brain.
• Inceasing serotonin levels in the synaptic cleft.
• Allowing it to remain active for longer and enhancing its mood-regualting effects.

Question 3

What part of the brain is involved in habit formation and intrusive thoughts

Answer 3

**cortico-striatal-thalamo-cortical (CSTC)*

( O- AL- O- AL)

Question 4

How do SRRI’s treat OCD?

Answer 4

• OCD is linked to abnormal serotonin imbalances in the brain paticularly in the cortico-striatal-thalamo-cortical (CSTC) involved in habit formation and instrustive thoughts.
• Thus, SSRI’s inc serotonin availability which helps reduce intrusive thoughts/ compuslons over time.

Question 5

What research compared the effectiveness of SSRI’s and placebos for OCD treatment?

Answer 5

• Soomro et al (2008)

Question 6

Soomro et al (2008)- meta-analysis of studies comparing SSRI’S and placebos for OCD treatments.

Answer 6

• Conducted a meta-analysis of 17 studies (3097 participants) comparing SSRIs and placebos for OCD treatment.
• Researchers used the Y-BOCS to measure OCD symptoms.
• SSRI’s consistently outperformed placebos in reducing OCD symptoms 6-13 weeks post-treatments. (allievated anxiety)

Question 7

How much studies were used in the meta-analysis?

Answer 7

17 studies

Question 8

How many ‘ppts’ were in Soomro et al (2008) meta-analysis?

Answer 8

• 3097

Question 9

SSRIs consistently outperformed placebos in reducing OCD symptoms…… weeks post-treatment

Answer 9

6-13 weeks

Question 10

Name 1 strength and 1 weakness of using biological treatments for OCD?

Answer 10

• Strengths: Research backed (soomro et al 2008)
• Weaknesess: Pallitative, short-term fix as it does not address root causes of the symptoms (trauma, enviromental factors). If the patient stops taking the medication, their symptoms will return. Psychological treatments (ERP)= to achieve full symptom relief.