(A03) Biological Treatments To OCD

• Drug therapy is effective at tackling OCD symptoms

  Soomro et al reviewed studies comparing SSRIs to placebos in treatment of OCD and concluded that all 17 studies reviewed showed better results for the SSRIs than for placebo conditions
• Effectiveness


  Effectiveness greatest when SSRIs are combined with psychological treatment - CBT. Typically, symptoms decline for around 70% of patients taking SSRIs. Of other 30%, combinations of drugs and psychological treatments will be effective. So drugs help more/most patients
• Drugs are cost-effective


  Drugs are cheap compared to psychological treatments. Using drugs to treat OCD is good value for NHS
• Drugs non-disruptive

  SSRIs are also more non-disruptive to patient's lives rather than the hard work of psychological therapy. Many doctors/patients use drug treatments
• Drugs can have side effects


  Some patients suffer indigestion, blurred vision and loss of sex drive, usually temporary. Reduce effectiveness as people stop taking medication as a result
• Side effects of Clomipramine

  For those taking Clomipramine, side effects are more severe: one in ten patients suffer erection problems, tremors and weight gain. More than one in a hundred have aggressive problems and suffer disruption in blood pressure/heart rhythm
• Unreliable evidence for drug treatments

  Some psychologists like Goldacre believe evidence favouring drugs is biased because the researcher is sponsored by drug/companies who do not report all evidence
• Some cases of OCD follow trauma

  It is acknowledged that OCD can have a range of other causes, and in some cases it is a response to a traumatic life event and not biological origins