Drug Therapy

    Cards (16)

    • Antipsychotics
      Drugs used to reduce the intensity of symptoms in particular the positive symptoms of schizo
    • Typical antipsychotics
      Only treat positive symptoms of schizo. Work as dopamine antagonists and an example is Chlorpromazine
    • Atypical antipsychotics
      Treat positive and negative symptoms of schizo and target dopamine, serotonin and glutamate. Examples include Clozapine and Risperidone
    • Antipsychotics explained
      • Can be taken as a tablet or syrup form
      • Can be given as injections every 2-4 weeks
      • May be used short term or long term
    • Typical Antipsychotics explained
      • Work by acting as antagonists in the dopamine system
      • Work by blocking dopamine receptors in the synapses of the brain reducing levels of dopamine
      • Reduces symptoms like hallucinations
    • What are some side effects of typical antipsychotics?
      • Long term use can lead to tardive dyskinesia
      • Uncontrollable muscle movements
      • Effective sedative
    • Chlorpromazine
      • Typical antipsychotic
      • Dopamine antagonist
      • Used to calm people with schizo and other conditions
    • Atypical Antipsychotics
      • Drugs act on D2 and occupy the receptors temporarily and then rapidly dissociate to allow normal dopamine transmission
      • Combats positive and negative symptoms
      • Also works in serotonin production systems
      • Less side effects than conventional drugs
    • Side effects of atypical antipsychotics
      • Reduced levels of tardive dyskinesia
      • Weight gain
      • Increased risk of stroke and cardiac arrest
    • Clozapine
      • Atypical antipsychotic
      • Binds to dopamine but also serotonin and glutamate receptors
      • Improves mood
      • Reduces depression and anxiety
      • Improves cognitive functioning
      • Prescribed to high suicide risk patients
    • Risperidone
      • Atypical antipsychotic
      • Developed to reduce side effects
      • Effective in small doses
      • Binds more strongly to dopamine than clozapine
    • How do atypical antipsychotics reduce effects?
      • Hallucinations and agitation reduce in a few days
      • Delusions reduce in a few weeks
      • Most improve significantly in 6 weeks
      • Individual differences in improvement
      • Some take one course while others need many
      • Some people do not respond to drugs at all
    • AO3 Drug Therapy: Serious side effects
      • Carry a risk of developing tardive dyskinesia makes them inappropriate as the effects of this may be seen as worse than that of schizophrenia
      • Atypical antipsychotics also carry the risk of serious health problems ranging from weight loss to stroke, cardiac arrest and diabetes
      • Both groups of antipsychotics carry serious side effects making them unethical
      • Some argue that cost benefit would happen as there are more benefits for the drug
    • AO3 Drug Therapy: Mechanism unclear
      • We do not know why antipsychotics work
      • Our understanding of the mechanism is strongly tied up to the original dopamine hypothesis
      • But the dopamine hypothesis is not a complete explanation for schizo
      • Dopamine levels in parts of the brain are too low or high
      • If this is the case then antipsychotics should not work
      • Questions of the effectiveness makes drug therapy seem ineffective
    • AO3 Drug Therapy: Don't treat the underlying cause
      • Antipsychotics are not effective in treating the underlying cause of schizophrenia and only provide relief for the symptoms
      • Drug therapies do not cure the patient and only mask symptoms so need to be continuously used for many patients
      • Have high relapse rates with up to 40% in the first year of treatment and then 15% in later years generally due to patients stopping their course because of the side effects and the impact this has on quality of life
      • This means for many sufferers they are not a effective long term solution
    • AO3 Drug Therapy: Evidence for effectiveness
      • 232 studies comparing atypical and typical antipsychotics
      • Atypical drugs were seen to be more effective than typical drugs resulting in fewer movement disorder side effects
      • Clozapine was found to be the most effective in reducing negative symptom