Schozphrenia: Biological Therapies of Schizophrenia

Question 1

Name two types of Biological Therapies

Answer 1

> Antipsychotic medication

> ECT

Question 2

Describe ECT

Answer 2

ECT stands for Electronic Compulsive Therapy, it works by using an electrical shock to cause a seizure. This seizure releases a rush of chemical neurotransmitters and temporarily alters function. ECT is given up to 3 to 4 times a week, usually for a maximum of 12 treatments.

Question 3

Describe the procedure of ECT

Answer 3

They are given an anesthetic in order to induce sleep and a muscle relaxant. Then the electrical shock is applied to the patients head for only 1 or 2 seconds. The seizure is controlled by medicines to stop/reduce the body having a grand muscular spasm.

Question 4

Describe the side effects of ECT

Answer 4

Side effects may result from both the anesthesia and the ECT. Common side effects include temporary memory loss, confusion, paranoia, nausea.

Question 5

Describe Antipsychotic Drugs

Answer 5

Drugs used to treat schizophrenia are called Antipsychotic drugs, they work to suppress hallucinations and delusions. A patient is only ever on one psychotic drug at a time. One drug does not treat each mental illness - depends on the individual response to drug treatments and clinicians preference for some drugs.

Question 6

Name two types of Antipsychotics

Answer 6

> Typical/Conventional Drugs

> Atypical Drugs

Question 7

Describe Typical Antipsychotics

Answer 7

Typical Antipsychotics are used primarily to combat the positive symptoms of schizophrenia, such as hallucinations etc. products of an overactive dopamine system. Typical antipsychotics bind to dopamine receptors for extended periods of time, which reduces the amount of dopamine being produced.

Question 8

Describe Atypical Antipsychotics

Answer 8

Kapur and Remington suggest that they target the D2 receptor specifically. However Atypicals have been found to also act on serotonin which is thought to explain their ability to deal with negative symptoms as well as positive.

Question 9

Name a study which demonstrates the effectiveness of ECT

Answer 9

Tharyan and Adams

Question 10

What did Tharyan and Adams find?

Answer 10

They carried out a review of 26 studies over 700 patients. They compared ECT, sham ECT, a placebo and antipsychotic drugs. They found a benefit of ECT over sham and placebo but not over drugs

Question 11

What conclusion can we draw from Tharyan and Adams findings?

Answer 11

This tells us that ECT seems to actually work, as it is still better than sham and placebo as it seems to have a positive effeect. Thus showing that ECT is effective.

Question 12

Name a study which shows the appropriateness of ECT

Answer 12

Read

Question 13

What did Read find?

Answer 13

Read found a massive decline in ECT use in recent years. The rate had dropped by 59% between 1979 and 1999

Question 14

What conclusions can we draw from Read’s findings

Answer 14

This tells us how people do not like using ECT, potentially due to the lack of consistent results, and the negative stigma behind the procedure, thus it might not be deemed appropriate by patients.

Question 15

Name a study which shows the effectiveness of Atypical drugs?

Answer 15

Leucht

Question 16

What did Leucht find?

Answer 16

Slightly better positive effects found in atypical drugs, compared to typical drugs. However it is relatively small and much less that anticipated

Question 17

What conclusions can we draw from Leucht’s findings?

Answer 17

Thus this shows it is not as effective as anticipated.

Question 18

Name a study which shows the effectiveness of Typical drugs

Answer 18

Davis et al.

Question 19

What did Davis et al. find?

Answer 19

He compared the effectiveness of antipsychotics with a placebo. Found that there were significant benefits of typical antipsychotics. He carried out a Meta analysis of over 100 studies. 70% of those showed improvement after 6 weeks.

Question 20

What conclusions can we draw from Davis et al.’s findings?

Answer 20

This shows that antipsychotics are better than a placebo, so it actually works. Thus antipsychotics are effective

Question 21

Name a study which shows the appropriateness of Antipsychotics in general

Answer 21

Hill

Question 22

What did Hill find?

Answer 22

One of the side effects which is extremely serious is Tardive Dyskinesia (uncontrollable movements of the tongue, lips, face, hands, feet). About 30% of people taking antipsychotic medication develop tardive dyskinesia, and it is irreversible in 75% of cases.

Question 23

What conclusions can we draw from Hill’s findings?

Answer 23

May not be appropriate for medical use, as too much risk from possibly contracting the horrible side effects, which will do more damage than good.