Drug therapy Flashcards
Antidepressants
Depression is caused by low levels of serotonin. Symptoms: decreased interest/pleasure, irritable, loss of energy, weight change or change in appetite.
Antidepressants work by either: reducing how much serotonin is reabsorbed back into the neuron OR blocking the enzyme that breaks down the reabsorbed serotonin so it can be released again.
Anti-anxieties
Symptoms of anxiety: Restlessness, difficulty concentrating, sleep disturbance, irritability. There are two types of anti-anxiety drugs: Benzodiazepines (BZ’s) which enhances the activity of GABA (the body’s natural form of anxiety relief) AND Beta-blockers (BB’s) which reduce the activity of adrenaline and noradrenaline, which stimulate anxiety symptoms such as an increased heart rate.
Anti-psychotics
Treats any mental disorder that causes a lapse in reality e.g. schizophrenia, psychosis (organic or drug induced), bipolar disorder/depression with psychotic features. There are two types of anti-psychotic drugs: Conventional anti-psychotics which block dopamine in the brain and bind but don’t stimulate receptors so less dopamine can get in the brain AND Atypical anti-psychotics which temporarily block dopamine in the brain and bind but don’t stimulate receptors so less dopamine get get in the brain but then quickly stop binding to allow normal distribution.
What does SSRI stand for?
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. This blocks the reabsorbing of the serotonin so there is more left in the synapse.
What happens in a non-depressed brain?
The serotonin that is not absorbed into neuron B is reabsorbed back into neuron A and broken down by an enzyme.
Effectiveness
Drug vs Placebo - 17 patients with OCD found the drug (BZ’s) to be more effective than the placebo - shows drug therapy is effective.
Side effects - If the drugs have side effects people may not want to take them meaning they are not effective.
Comparison with other treatments - drug therapy is cheap/free as in the UK it is on the NHS whereas talking therapy is not. It is also not time consuming. There it is effective.
Ethical issues
Use of placebos - patients don’t consent to being given a placebo instead of the actual drug. Not ethical as they know it won’t help them.
Patient information - patients may find it difficult to remember facts and may not be in the right state of mind therefore cannot consent to taking the drug. Therefore it is not ethical.
