AO3: Biological treatments for OCD

• :) Research to support drugs (A)

  Julien (2007), reported that studies (meta-analysis) of SSRIs show that although symptoms do not dully disappear, between 50% and 80% of OCD patients improve. This allows them to live a relatively normal lifestyle which they wouldn't be able to do without the treatment.
• :) Research to support drugs (B)

  SSRIs are not a cure for OCD however they do help with the symptoms and therefore everyday life and living a fairly normal lifestyle. This implies that SSRIs are better than taking nothing.
• Research to support drugs (C)

  However, critics accuse drug companies of supressing the evidence that drugs aren't effective and are actually dangerous. E.g. Prozac was linked by Bergquist et al (1999) to suicidal urges in some people and Healey said that antidepressants could be triggering 2500 more suicides in Europe each year. He also said there were other serious side effects like 6000 birth defects and 30000 miscarriages from taking antidepressants during pregnancy. (About 1 in 10 pregnant women are prescribed antidepressants). The accusation remains that profit is put before health.
• Research to support drugs (D)

  Turner researched publication bias. All FDA trials for 12 antidepressants recorded: there were 38 positive and 36 negative, 37 positive were published whilst only 3 negative were published. This withheld information reaffirms the idea that money is more important to drug companies than the health of the general public.
• :) Drugs require little effort from the patient compared to other treatments

  The effect of the drug will be immediate so therefore they are good at dealing with acute symptoms whilst talking therapies take much longer.

  Drugs are also often more appealing to patients with episodic mental illness.

  Many patients often start with drugs and eventually wean them off and substitute CBT and other talking therapies. (Eclectic therapies seem to work better in the long term as well as being more cost effective).
• :( Impact of taking drugs for a long time: Tolerance& Dependence(i)

  T: When drugs are taken over a long period of time, this means that the dosage may have to be increased to get the desired effect.

  D: Patients can experience withdrawal which leads to psychological dependence. This happens even on low doses of BZs which wouldn't happen with CBT.
• :( Impact of taking drugs for a long time (ii)

  There is always a risk of experiencing side effects when taking drugs, this can happen from both SSRIs and BZs.

  E.g. Nausea (often associated with SSRIs), headaches and insomnia.
• :( Impact of taking drugs for a long time (iii)

  Drugs only work for as long as the person takes them. They do not fix the disorder or illness because the actual problem itself has not been addressed, they just help the person to cope.