Drug Therapy

Question 1

Describe Anti-Depressants SSRI’S

Answer 1

• SSRI’S are a group of drugs that are used to reduce the
  anxiety experienced in OCD.
  -These drugs are specifically designed to bind to the serotonin receptors of the post-synaptic neuron in order for the serotonin that has been released from the pre-synaptic neuron to remain
  available in the synaptic cleft for re-use.
  -This means that there is more serotonin available for use and this
  increases the activity of the serotonergic pathway.
• As low levels of serotonin activity are associated with
  anxiety, increasing this activity reduces the anxiety associated with OCD.

Question 2

A03 - Side Effects

Answer 2

Common side effects of SSRIs include nausea, drowsiness and weight gain.
- This included dizziness, over sedation and greater number of bone fractures from falling.
- Hence, SSRI’s may not be appropriate for every individual

Question 3

A03 - Ease

Answer 3

• Patients find drug therapy to be a quick and easy solution, compared to the average 20/30 sessions required for CBT, as well as the emotional effort of challenging one’s own thought processes. -
  
  • Further, the ease of use may lead to patients sticking to their therapy, and this may contribute to longer-term effectiveness.
    -Whilst this may temporarily improve a patient’s condition, drugs will only have an effect whilst they are being taken.
• As soon as a person stops taking the drugs the symptoms may reappear and their effectiveness ceases.

-Support for this comes from Maina et al (2001) who found that most patients relapse back to their symptoms within a few weeks of the stopping of their medication.
-Questioning the therapy’s use to enable an individual to overcome OCD.

Question 4

A03 - Research

Answer 4

-A substantial body of placebo-controlled studies has established the safety and effectiveness of selective
serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) for the treatment of OCD.
- For instance, Koran et al (2014) found that
Sertraline (an SSRI) demonstrated sustained effectiveness in the reduction of symptoms, among patients during the 80-week study. Sertraline demonstrated greater effectiveness than placebo in preventing dropout or relapse.
-Hence, SSRIs are effective as a treatment to reduce the anxiety associated with OCD.

-Likewise, a substantial body of research has shown the effectiveness of BZs as a long-term therapy compared to a placebo.
- However, there was very little evidence for any effectiveness as a short-term therapy compared
to a placebo, and there were significantly higher levels of side-effects for the drug group. Hence, BZs are effective as a long-term treatment to reduce the anxiety associated with OCD.

Question 5

Describe Anti-Anxiety Drugs - Benzodiazepines (BZs)

Answer 5

-Psychoactive drugs are one way of reducing anxiety associated with OCD. BZs e.g., Valium, increase the
efficiency of synaptic action of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA. BZs target pathways that, when activated by stress, lead to the turning on of the fight or flight stress response, and the release of stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol.
-BZs decrease activity in these pathways by approx. 40%, resulting in lower activation of the stress response, lower levels of stress hormones, and so a lesser feeling of anxiety in OCD individuals