Lesson 13: The biological approach to treating OCD: Drug Therapy

Question 1

Anti depressants: SSRI’s positives

Answer 1

• Supporting evidence- Soomro (2009) reviewed 17 studies that compared SSRI’s to placebo drugs for treating OCD and found that all 17 studies showed that SSRI drugs were more effective than placebos, especially when SSRI’s were combined with CBT
• Relatively cheap and cost effective in comparison to psychological therapies- e.g. CBT, counselling or family therapy. Therefore, it’s good value for money for NHS, and is economical compared to other treatments.

Question 2

SSRIs negatives

Answer 2

• Can be criticised because they do not work for all OCD patients. Some patients will then have to take an alternative drug such as tricyclics instead which might be more effective for them.
• They have terrible side effects which might mean that the OCD patient might stop taking the medication. Side effects are temporary but include indigestion, blurred vision and loss of sex drive.

Question 3

BZ positives

Answer 3

• BZ can begin to reduce anxiety levels and OCD symptoms in a short time, especially compared to CBT for example, so patient experiences immediate relief
• can be used for short periods of time without any real serious side effects therefore short term side effects kept to a minimum with BZ

Question 4

BZ negatives

Answer 4

• problem of tolerance whereby patients need to take larger doses of the drug in order to reduce OCD symptoms because their body gets used to the drug
• Stewart (2005) criticised long term use of BZ as he carried out a meta analysis and found clear evidence of BZ leading to cognitive impairments.

Question 5

What does SSRIs stand? Name two

Answer 5

Selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors e.g. Prozac and Fluoxetine

Question 6

What do SSRI’s aim to do?

Answer 6

Low levels of serotonin are associated with OCD and depression and SSRI drugs aim to prevent the re-uptake of serotonin and prolong its activity in the synapse- this means the person will feel less anxious and have a higher level of serotonin available.

Question 7

Effects of increased serotonin

Answer 7

Increased serotonin allows OCD patients to regulate mood and reduce anxiety level, and will also help to reduce the ‘worry circuit. High levels of serotonin help the orbital frontal cortex to function at normal levels as well as helping stabilise moods and emotions and improve memory and therefore reduce compulsive behaviour and checking.

Question 8

SNRI drugs

Answer 8

SNRI drugs are a new type of drug that increase serotonin and noradrenaline- suitable for OCD patients that cannot tolerate SSRI drugs.

Question 9

What does BZ drugs stand for? Name two- what is their general aim?

Answer 9

Benzodiazepine drugs reduce anxiety and aim to control the action of neurotransmitters.
E.g. Valium and Xanax- helps to reduce the activity in the CNS and reduce brain arousal.

Question 10

Aim of BZ drugs

Answer 10

To reduce blood pressure and heart rate and to increase GABA which is a neurotransmitter in the brain that slows down the firing of neurons and makes the person calmer and less anxious.

Question 11

How do BZ drugs interact with GABA?

Answer 11

BZ drugs bind to the GABA receptor site of the post synaptic neuron which increases the flow of chloride ions into the post synaptic neuron- the chloride ions make it more difficult for the neuron to be stimulated by other neurotransmitters, thus slowing down its activity and making the person feel more relaxed.

Question 12

Effects of BZ reducing serotonin

Answer 12

Neurones in the brain become less active and the person feels calmer- also decreases serotonin levels in the brain which means the person has lower arousal and reduces anxiety, but they are less happy and more likely to get depressed.