Treatments for OCD

• Biological approach to treating OCD

  Drug therapy including anti-depressants and anti-anxiety drugs
• How do SSRIs work?

  they increase the levels of serotonin in the synapse by blocking its re-uptake, so the post synaptic neuron is still stimulated and OCD symptoms are reduced
• most common SSRI for OCD (hint: me)

  fluoxetine
• Eg of antidepressants

  SSRIs
• eg of anti-anxiety drugs

  benzodiazepines
• What neurotransmitter do BZs enhance?

  GABA
• role of GABA

  tells neurons in the brain to slow down and stop firing
• how do BZs work?

  they enhance GABA resulting in a quietening influence on the brain, therefore reducing anxiety
• what can happen if BZs are taken for a long time?

  tolerance can occur - the brain gets used to the effects
• positive evaluation of treatments

  • supporting evidence - Soomro et al found that SSRIs are significantly more effective in reducing OCD symptoms up to 3 months after treatment
  • cost effective - drug therapies are cheaper and more convenient for patients as they don’t require motivation
• negative evaluation of treatments

  • side effects - SSRIs: fatigue, nausea, headaches

  BZs: aggression, memory impairment

  • treating symptoms not the cause - in a significant number of cases patients don’t experience any improvement when taking SSRIs and are prone to relapse once they stop taking the drug