ocd biological treatment

• Drug therapy is treatment that includes drugs that have a particular effect on the functioning of the brain or some other body system. In case of any psychological disorder, these drugs usually affect neurotransmitter levels. It aims to increase or decrease the levels of neurotransmitters and the activity levels. They are often used to increase the levels of serotonin in the brain.
• SSRI’s:

  It involves a particular antidepressant named selective serotonin uptake inhibitor. They work on the level of serotonin in the brain, as they are released by neurons (presynaptic neurons) and travel across a synapse in the brain. The neurotransmitter chemically conveys the signal from the presynaptic neuron to the postsynaptic neuron, and then reabsorbed by the presynaptic neuron where it is broken down and reused. By preventing reabsorption and the breakdown it increases the levels of serotonin in the synapse and continues to stimulate the postsynaptic neuron.
• CBT and drugs are often used alongside each other to reduce the emotional symptoms such as anxiety. This means that people with OCD will be more engaged with the CBT.
• Alternatives to SSRI’s:

  If their SSRIs are not effective after 3-4 months then the patient will then have an increased dosage or the drug will then be combined with other drugs. Sometimes other drugs tried. Tricyclics are drugs that are also used and it  acts on various systems like the serotonin system and is mainly kept on reserve for people who don't respond to SSRIs. SNRIs (serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors) have been used recently to treat OCD. They are a second line of defence for people who do not respond to SSRIs. They increase the serotonin levels as well as noradrenaline.
• limitation serious side effects. Although drugs like SSRIs help people most of the time, small pop no benefit. Some may experience side effects such as blurred vision, indigestion and many others. usually temporary,can be distressing for people, and for a few minority the side effects long lasting. clients taking tricyclic clomipramine side effect common and serious. 1 in 10 can face weight gain and 1 in 100 more aggressive heart problems. This means that some people can experience a reduced quality of life due to taking these drugs and may stop taking them all together cease to be effective.
• strength in general for drug treatments cost effective as many of the drugs can be manufactured at the same time it takes to conduct one psychological session. Using drug treatments is therefore a good option of treatment for public health services such as the NHS, as it represents a good use of limited funds. SSRIs are non disruptive compared to psychological treatments because with psych treatments spend time attending to the therapy compared to the SSRIs where if the client wishes to take them for the rest of their lives till their symptoms reduce. This means that SSRIs are a popular.
• strength of drug treatment for OCD is the effectiveness. There is clear evidence that SSRIs reduce the  severity of the symptoms of OCD., and improve their quality of life. Soomro 2009 reviewed 18 studies that compared SSRIs to placebos in the treatment for OCD. All 17 studies showed that the SSRIs had significantly better results than the placebos. Typically symptoms are reduced by 70% when taking SSRIs, and the other 30% can be helped by alternative drugs or combination of drugs and psychological therapies. This means that drugs appear to be most helpful for people with OCD.
• but,evidence to suggest that even if drug treatments are helpful for most not be the most effective. Skapinakis 2016 carried out a systematic review of outcome studies and found both cognitive and behavioural therapies were more effective than SSRIs for the treatment of OCD means SSRIs not optimal treatment for OCD. But for these treatments the clients would have to be placed on a waiting list  to get an appointment  and while they are on there they would have no treatment. So it would be even more effective if there was a combination of SSRIs and CBT.