Drug treatment evaluation Flashcards
Simply evaluate typical antipshycotic drugs
✓ They’ve been proven high effective - Cole
✗They do not provide a complete treatment method
✗They can lead to traumatic side effects
Typical antipsychotic - Explain ‘✓ They’ve been proven high effective - Cole’
Cole et al compared drug treatment with a control group, one group took chlorprozamine for 6 weeks whilst the others took a placebo - the drug group showed significant improvement (75%) compared to the control (25%)
–This shows that typical antipsychotics are highly effective in reducing positive symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions
Typical antipsychotic - Explain ‘✗They do not provide a complete treatment method’
1/4 of patients do not respond to typical antipsychotics
Loebel et al found 16% failed to recover within 12 months of the first treatment meaning that they are not effective for all and other forms of treatment need to be considered
Along with this they are not effective in treating the negative symptoms of schizophrenia meaning they do not provide a complete treatment
Typical antipsychotic - Explain ‘✗They can lead to traumatic side effects’
They are associated with dizziness, agitation, sleepiness, stiff jaw and weight gain - with long term effects such as Tardive Dyskinesia
This is a limitation as it can mean patients stop taking their medication and therefore never see the benefits and continue to suffer from schizophrenia
Simply evaluate A-typical antipsychotic drugs
✓ Research evidence supports the benefits of A-typical drugs over typical
✓ A-typical have fewer side effects
✗ Serious problems with their side effects
A-Typical anitpsychotics - explain ‘✓ Research evidence supports the benefits of A-typical drugs over typical’
Meltzer reviewed the effects of Clozapine and found it is effective in 30-50% of treatment resistant cases where typical antipsychotics have failed. This suggests that atypical drugs are more effective than typical antipsychotics
Atypical drugs have also been found to be effective for negative symptoms as well as positive , meaning they have added benefits over typical drugs of providing a more complete treatment for schizophrenia
A-typical antipsychotics - explain ‘✓ A-typical have fewer side effects’
They lower the risk of Tardive Dyskinesia and may ultimately be more appropriate in the treatment of schizophrenia, which in turn means the patient is more likely to continue with their medication and therefore see more benefits
A-typical antipsychotics - explain ‘✗Serious problems with their side effects’
They are potentially life threatening - a minority of patients developed a disorder where the level of WBC dropped which can be life threatening
Simply evaluate drug treatment overall
✗ There are ethical issues associated with drug treatment
✓ They have revolutionised the treatment of schizophrenia
✗ Drugs are a passive treatment
✗ They do not cure schizophrenia
Overall antipsychotic drugs - explain ‘✗ There are ethical issues associated with drug treatment’
Some people have likened them to straight jackets, as it is widely believed that antipsychotics have been used in hospitals to calm patients and make them easier to work with. Critics also argue that we need to weigh up the cost of potentially life threatening side effects with the overall benefits
Overall antipsychotic drugs - explain ‘✓ They have revolutionised the treatment of schizophrenia’
Before antipsychotics schizophrenia was mainly untreatable and many were resigned to a life in a mental institution however now less than 3% of patients with schizophrenia live in hospitals. Living outside of a hospital environment allows patients to develop their social skills and some even manage to find employment
This shows how antipsychotic drugs have made a dramatic difference to the lives of suggerers as they have given many the opportunity to lead a relitively normal life
Overall antipsychotic drugs - explain ‘✗ Drugs are a passive treatment’
The method reduces the motivation to look for possible splutions that might alleviate these stressors and in effect reduce their suffering due to the fact that the patient is not actually doing somethiong to change the circumstances they’re in or develop coping strategies
Overall antipsychotic drugs - explain ‘✗ They do not cure schizophrenia’
They only control symptoms, they’re not a cure
This is a weakness as although they’re more effective than any other single form of treatment, drugs alone are not sufficient for most patients
