Lesson 13: Biological 🌱 approach to treating OCD (Drug 💊 Therapy)

Question 1

What 2 drugs are used to treat OCD as part of the Biological 🌱 approach to OCD?

Answer 1

1) SSRI drugs (anti-depressants)- e.g. Prozac

2) Benzodiazepines (BZ)- e.g. Valium

Question 2

What are SSRI drugs (anti-depressants) and how do they help treat OCD?

Answer 2

1) SSRI (selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors)- prevent reuptake- serotonin- prolong activity- in synapse-> ⬆️ serotonin available, ⬇️ anxiety, better mood 😊 & emotions (😭)- e.g. Prozac
2) ⬆️ serotonin via SSRI ⬇️ ‘worry circuit’ (damages caudate nucleus- ✖️ suppress minor worry signals … message sent to orbital frontal cortex-> ⬆️ worrying, anxiety
3) Prescribed- 12-16 weeks

Question 3

What are the evaluation points of the use of SSRI drugs (anti-depressants) to treat OCD?

Answer 3

👎- side effects- indigestion, blurred vision 👀, lose sex drive-> ✖️ taking medication 💊
👍- cheap- cost effective for NHS- compared- psychological therapies (CBT), counselling etc- economical too
👎- Koran (2007)- criticised use of 💊- CBT should be tried first- 💊 therapy- little effort, short term, ✖️ long lasting cure (plaster)- relapse (deteriorate) occurs if medication stopped (within weeks)
👍- research support- Soomro (2009)- 17 studies- compared SSRI’s to placebo drugs- all 17 studies- showed SSRI drugs ⬆️ effective

Question 4

What are Benzodiazepines (BZ) and how do they help treat OCD?

Answer 4

1) BZ ⬇️ anxiety- e.g. Valium- ⬇️ activity in CNS- ⬇️ blood 💉 pressure- ⬇️❤️ rate
2) BZ ⬆️ GABA (neurotransmitter- slows down firing of neurons-> person ⬇️ anxious, calmer)
3) BZ drugs- bind to GABA receptor site- of post synaptic neuron-> ⬆️ flow chloride ions into post synaptic neuron- chloride ions- make it ⬆️ difficult for neuron to be stimulated by other neurotransmitters … slow activity- person relaxed
4) BZ ⬇️ serotonin-> ⬇️ arousal, anxiety BUT ⬇️ 😊 …-> depression

Question 5

What are the evaluation points of the use of Benzodiazepines (BZ) to treat OCD?

Answer 5

👎- long term side effects- drowsiness, depression (⬇️ serotonin), ⬆️ accident rate … BZ ✖️ used as long term treatment
👍- quick fix- faster than psychological treatments (CBT)- immediate relief (⬇️ anxiety)
👎- Ashton (1997)- users- dependent on BZ- sudden withdrawal-> ⬆️ anxiety (OCD symptoms)
— Drug escalation- tolerance?- patients- take large doses- ⬇️ symptoms
👍- good short term fix- ✖️ real serious side effects in short term- … good short term drug to ⬇️ symptoms