Biological Treatments to schizophrenia

Question 1

What drugs are often used as medication and what are the 2 types?

Answer 1

Antipsychotics

Typical antipsychotics and Atypical antipsychotics

Question 2

describe what a typical antipsychotic drug is and give an example of one

Answer 2

• Developed in around the 1950’s
• Referred to as the first generation
• They are dopamine antagonists - binds to dopamine receptors at the synapse to decrease levels of dopamine and reduce positive symptoms such as hallucinations and has a sedative effect
• This could lead to negative symptoms

Example:
Chlorpromazine

• Taken in the form of syrup, tablet or injection
• dosage of around 400-800mg per day with a maximum dose of 1000mg
• Side effects - AO3

Question 3

What is some side effects (AO3) for typical antipsychotics?

Answer 3

• Negative side effects - dry mouth, constipation, lethargy, Tardive dyskinesia - involuntary muscle movement

Question 4

Describe what an atypical antipsychotic drug is and give examples

Answer 4

• Been used since the 70’s and was made to tackle some of the side effects of typical drugs and make them more effective
• Block dopamine receptors (Dopamine antagonist) but also work on other neurotransmitters such as serotonin
• this targets negative symptoms as well as positive symptoms such as avolition

Examples:

Clozapine -
inhibits receptors D2, D5 (weakly), S2 and others. This decreases dopamine levels so decreases both positive and negative symptoms

Risperidone

Question 5

AO3 for antipsychotics as a treatment for schizophrenia

Answer 5

Strengths -

Effective -
(Typical) Thornly et al
- reviewed 13 studies with 1121 p’s who had been taking chlopromazine and found a decrease in the severity of symptoms and improved overall function compared to placebo.

Cost effective
- in relation to other treatments such as therapy and hospitalisation -
Therapy - around £60 a session
Drug - around £15 for 28 10mg of chlopromazine

Weakness -

Side effects -
Typical - Dry mouth, constipation, confusion, Tardive dyskinesia - involuntary movement of muscles -
Atypical - weight gain, cardiovascular problems

Short term focus -
Healy -
Most studies only focus on short term effects meaning the drugs may be masking the symptoms for now but in the future the patient could relapse