Treatments of OCD

• How is OCD treated?

  Drug Therapy
• What does drug therapy do?

  Aims to increase or decrease levels of neurotransmitters in the brain or to change their activity
• What drug is used for OCD?

  SSRI
• How does SSRI work?

  • Prevent the reabsorption and breakdown of serotonin in the brain by blocking the reuptake channels.
  • So levels of serotonin in the synapse is increased
• How long does it take SSRI to impact symptoms?

  3 to 4 months of daily use
• What is a tricyclic antidepressant?

  Block the reuptake of two neurotransmitters:

  • Serotonin and noradrenaline.
  • Can make it more effective but increases side effects - weight gain and tiredness
• How are drugs and CBT used together?

  The drugs reduce the emotional symptoms so the patient can engage more effectively with CBT
• Strength of treatments of OCD:

  • Evidence for Effectiveness
  • 17 studies has all showed that SSRIs are more effective than placebos

  COUNTERPOINT:

  • Psychological therapies alone (e.g. CBT) are likely to be more effective than drugs for OCD
• Strength of Treatments of OCD:

  • Cost effective and Non disruptive
  • Relatively cheap for NHS and don't involve time spent going to therapy sessions.
• Limitation of Treatments of OCD:

  • Serious Side Effects
  • SSRIs may lead to indigestion, blurred vision, loss of sex drive, weight gain, aggressiveness, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea or insomnia/hypersomnia
• Limitation of Treatments of OCD:

  • Biased Evidence
  • Drug researchers sponsored by drug companies, biased results.
  • Still best available evidence and psychological therapies research may be biased too.