Biological treatments of OCD evaluation

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Biological treatments of OCD strengths

Drug therapy is effective at tackling OCD symptoms: 

Soomro et al reviewed studies, where they compared SSRI’s to placebos (controlled condition)  and found that all 17 studies showed significantly better results for the SSRI’s than the placebo conditions. It’s more effective when it’s combined with psychological treatment, usually CBT. 

For 70% of the patients - the symptoms typically decline significantly taking SSRIs, whereas the remaining 30%  can receive alternative drug treatments or combinations of drug treatments as well as psychological treatments.

Drugs are cost-effective and and non-disruptive: 

Cheaper than psychological treatments - benefiting the public health service, compared to psychological therapies, you can take the drugs until your symptoms decline and not have to deal with the hard work of the psychological treatment.

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Biological treatments of OCD limitations

Drugs can have side effects: 

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

For people taking Tricyclic, side effects will be more common and can be more serious. For example 1 in 10 people experience erection problems and weight gain, 1 in 100 become aggressive and experience heart problems.

Some cases of OCD follow trauma: 

OCD is believed to be biological in origin so the standard treatment for it should be biological but In some cases it’s a response to other causes and an example could be a traumatic life event.

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