Biological Treatments For OCD Flashcards
Drug therapy - Changing neurotransmitter levels
Since low levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin are associated with OCD, drugs work in various ways to increase the brain’s serotonin levels.
Drug therapy - Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)
SSRIs work to prevent the reabsorbtion and breakdown of serotonin in the brain.
This increases its levels in the synapse, meaning serotonin continues to stimulate the postsynaptic neuron, compensating for the low levels of OCD in a sufferer’s brain.
Drug therapy - Combining SSRIs with CBT.
Drug therapy alongside CBT helps patients to engage more effectively with the CBT process by reducing their emotional symptoms such as anxiety or depression.
Drug therapy - SSRI alternatives: Tricyclics
Tryciclics are an older type of antidepressant that have a similar effect on the serotonin system- but wii decidedly more severe side effects than SSRIs
Drug therapy - SSRI alternates: SNRIs
‘Serotonin Noradrenaline Reuptake Inhibitors’ have emerged in the last decade - and are used to treat OCD if SSRIs prove ineffective.
They work by increasing levels of both serotonin and noradrenaline in the brain.
✅AO3- drug therapy is effective in tackling OCD
Soomro et al (2009)
Reviewed 17 studies comparing SSRIs to placebos in OCD treatment. All 17 studies showed significantly better results for SSRI treatment than placebo treatment.
The greatest reduction of symptoms is found in treatments that combine SSRI treatment with psychological treatment - usually CBT.
Symptoms are reduced by SSRIs for approximately 70% of patients. The remaining 30% benefit from alternative drug treatments or combination therapies
So overall, drug therapies are helpful to most OCD patients.
✅AO3- drugs are cost-effective and non-disruptive/intrusive
Drug treatment is very cheap in comparison to psychological treatments- meaning they are more easily accessible and more sustainable for public healthcare systems.
Compared to psychological therapies, drugs are not disruptive to patient’s’ lives. They do not require the self-motivation and hard psychological work that psychological therapies do.
For this reason drug treatments are often favoured.
❌AO3- drugs can have side effects
Indigestion, blurred vision, and loss of sex drive can occur as temporary side effects for SSRIs.
Alternative drugs such as the tricyclic clomipramine have more common and more severe side effects. More than 10% of users suffer erection problems and weight gain. 1% become seriously aggressive and suffer disruption to blood pressure and heart rhythm.
These side effects are weaknesses for drug therapies, as although the majority of patients benefit - the side effects can deter people from beginning drug treatment- or can cause people to stop the drugs altogether.
❌AO3 - unreliable evidence for drug treatments
SSRI treatment is surrounded by some controversy.
Some believe that the evidence favouring these treatments is subject to bias, as the research is sponsored by the companies who are selling the drugs, who will not be inclined to report all evidence. (Goldacre 2013)
These companies may suppress evidence that shows their drugs in an unfavourable light in order to overemphasise the effectiveness of their drug and maximise financial gain.
❌AO3- some OCD cases follow trauma
We know that OCD can emerge in response to traumatic life events.
Drug treatment may be unsuitable for these cases as the patient is failing to tackle the root of their problem. Psychological treatment may be more appropriate in these cases where there is an undeniable environmental/cognitive aspect.
