Drug therapy Flashcards
How are the biological assumptions applied to drug therapy?
The biological approach assumes psychological disorders have a psychological cause. (Medical model)
Therefore, they can be treated in a physical way.
A patient should be treated by manipulating their physical bodily processes.
Changes in neurotransmitter levels will affect our mood, feelings and behaviour.
Biological therapies can be used to alter the action of neurotransmitters in the brain to treat mental illnesses.
Drug therapies increase or block the action of certain neurotransmitters, influencing our emotions, thoughts and actions.
What is the Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS)?
When you’re scared, your sympathetic nervous system is aroused, allowing you to deal with a potentially dangerous situation.
This is called the fight or flight response.
When you’re scared, your body produces noradrenaline which creates the physiological symptoms you experience.
E.g. heart beating rapidly, sweating and your mouth going dry.
What are conventional antipsychotics?
Used to combat positive symptoms.
(Delusions and hallucinations)
These drugs block the action of dopamine by binding to but not stimulating dopamine receptors.
What are atypical antipsychotics?
Combats positive symptoms but there are also claims that they help negative symptoms. (Speech disturbances)
They work by only temporarily occupying dopamine receptors before rapidly dissociating allowing normal dopamine transmission.
What are Beta Blockers (BBs)?
They bind to receptors on the cells of the heart and other body parts stimulated during sympathetic arousal.
By blocking the receptors it is harder to stimulate these cells so the heart beats slower.
This results in less stress on the heart so the person feels calmer and less anxious.
What are benzodiazepines (BZs)?
They slow down the activity of the central nervous system.
They enhance the activity of GABA.
What is GABA?
A neurotransmitter that is the body’s natural form of anxiety relief.
What are Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs)?
Most commonly prescribed antidepressant in the UK.
The side effects of SSRIs are generally easier to cope with than the side effects from other types of antidepressants.
They work by blocking the transporter mechanism that reabsorbs serotonin.
What are Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (MAOIs)?
They work by making it harder for an enzyme (monoamine oxidase) that breaks down noradrenaline and serotonin to do its job, causing these chemicals to stay active in the body for longer.
They can have dangerous interactions with some kind of food.
What did Soomro et al study?
A study that looked at 17 studies comparing SSRIs to placebos for the treatment of OCD.
SSRIs were found to be more effective in reducing symptoms up to three months after treatment.
What did Kahn et al find?
A study that found in 82% of the 250 patients he followed, Bzs were superior to placebos.
This study is short-term and doesn’t reflect long term comparisons.
What are the side effects of SSRIs?
Nausea.
Headaches.
Insomnia.
What are the side effects of tricyclic antidepressants?
Hallucinations.
Irregular heartbeat.
What is the symptoms not cause evaluation point?
Drug therapies can be effective in treating the symptoms of psychological disorders, but they don’t treat the underlying cause.
This could lead to a “revolving door syndrome” where the patient is never fully treated.
What is the use of placebos evaluation point?
No patient should be given a treatment known to be inferior.
If effective treatments exist, they should be given as the control condition when new treatments are tested.
What is the patient information evaluation point?
Valid consent may not always be possible.
Patients may find it hard to remember all the information relating to potential side effects.
Or they may not be in the frame of mind to digest this information.
Medical professionals may withhold some information about the drugs being tested:
Some may exaggerate the effects.
Some may not inform of alternatives.
What is the other treatments evaluation point?
Drug therapy is cheap for patients in the UK because of the NHS.
Practitioner invests less time.
It’s easier for the practitioner to sign a prescription for drugs compared to setting them up with other treatments.
Efficient and easy to administer.
