OCD treatment (biological)

• Biological approach to treating OCD

  Drug therapy
• Biological approach to OCD

  • Views biological factors as leading to OCD
  • Targets biological factors to treat OCD
• Low level of serotonin

  Linked with OCD
• How medication treats OCD

  1. Increases serotonin

  2. Causes OCD to function at more normal levels (the worry circuit)
• SSRIs

  • Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors
  • Anti-depressants originally designed to treat depression
  • Also found effective at treating OCD
• How SSRIs work

  • Block absorption of serotonin
  • Increase levels of serotonin in the synapse
  • Can take 3-4 months to reduce symptoms as neurotransmitter levels rise gradually
• SNRIs

  • Serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors
  • Work on two neurotransmitters: serotonin and norepinephrine (noradrenaline)
  • Used for patients who do not respond to SSRIs
  • Increase amount of serotonin and noradrenaline in the synapse by slowing the rate the brain breaks them down
• Biological therapies


  Drug therapy
• Biological approach to treating OCD

  • Involves drug therapy
  • Drugs usually work by increasing levels of serotonin in the brain using selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)
  • SSRIs prevent the reuptake of serotonin in the synaptic cleft
• OCD affects lots of people in the UK. If sufferers can have the most appropriate treatment, they can maintain better quality of life and remain effective members of society