Biological treatment

• Drug therapy

  Aims to increase or decrease levels of neurotransmitters in the brain or to increase/decrease their activity

  Low levels of serotonin are associated with OCD, therefore drugs to treat OCD work in various ways to increase the level of serotonin in the brain
• SSRIs

  Standard medical treatment used to tackle the symptoms of OCD involves type of antidepressant called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor

  Serotonin is released by neurons in the brain. It travels across the synapse, and it chemically conveys a signal from presynaptic neuron to postsynaptic neuron. It’s then reabsorbed by the presynaptic neuron to be reused.

  SSRIs prevent the reabsorption so the levels of serotonin increase in the synapse. This then continues to stimulate the postsynaptic neuron.
• SSRIs and CBT can be combined to treat OCD

  The drugs reduce a persons symptoms, so they can engage more effectively with the CBT
• SSRI alternatives

  Sometimes SSRIs aren’t affective, even after increasing the dose, so other antidepressants are tried

  Tricyclics- has same affect on serotonin, but with more severe side-effects, so usually kept as a reserve

  SNRIs- increase levels of serotonin, as well as another different neurotransmitter called noradrenaline
• A strength of drug treatment is the evidence for effectiveness

  There is evidence to show SSRIs reduce symptom severity and improve life quality for OCD patients

  Meta analysis of 17 studies that compared SSRIs to placebos, showed significantly better outcomes for SSRIs.

  typically symptoms reduce for 70% of people when taking SSRIs, for the remaining 30% most can be helped by alternative drugs or combinations of drugs and psychological therapies

  However, a review of outcome studies concluded that both cognitive and behavioural therapies are more effective than SSRIs in the treatment of OCD
• A strength of drug treatment is cost-effective and non-disruptive

  Drug treatments are cheap compared to psychological treatment because thousands of tablets or liquid doses can be manufactured in the time it takes to conduct one session of a psychological therapy

  They are also non-disruptive to peoples lives as no time is spent attending therapy sessions

  Drug treatments are popular with many people with OCD and their doctors
• A limitation of drug treatments, is the serious side effects

  Some people experience indigestion, blurred vision and loss of sex drive. The side-effects are usually temporary. However they can be quite distressing for people and for a minority they are long-lasting

  The tricyclic clomipramine has more serious side-effects like correction problems, weight gain, aggressiveness and heart related problems

  This means that some people have a reduced quality of life as a result of taking drugs and may stop taking them all together Meaning the drugs aren't effective.