Bio treatments for schizophrenia

Drug treatment

Drug Treatment: Aim to change the biochemistry of the brain to help reduce symptoms of sz. They are mostly given in tablet form but can be injected by a medical professional if the patient forgets to take them. They are not a cure but only a way to manage symptoms.

Antipsychotic drugs are used to treat schizophrenic symptoms as they are classed as antagonist as they work so block receptors site and so reduce the amount of neurotransmitters available in the brain. These come in two formats typical and atypical antisychotic drugs, which type of drugs is given is worked out on a trial and error basis as there is no way to tell what type of drug will be most effective for each individual.

Typical antipsychotic drugs

These reduce levels of dopamine only They only treat positive symptoms due to being antagonist in that they block the function of the dopamine in the brain

Typical antipsychotic drugs work by blocking the D2 receptors be the past synaptic neuron stopping dopamine from binding with the receptor slowing down its ability to pass messages between neurons

By blocking 02 receptors it reduces the dopamine activity in between the neurons to a normal level and so reduces the positive symptoms associated with schizophrenia

Atypical antipsychotic drugs

These reduce levels of both dopamine and serotonin and have been in use since the 1990's. They treat both positive and negative symptoms as they are both antagonist and agonists so decreasing and increasing dopamine activity in the brain. They have been found to be very effective in improving cognitive functioning and memory in patients

Within the mesolimbic pathway atypical antipsychotics bind to D2 receptors and reduce the activity on dopamine so slowing down the passing on of a message between neurons to a normal level. They also bind to the SHT2a receptors (reduce the action of serotonin) in the mesocortical pathway and block this receptor so that dopamine levels are raised, and this helps to reduce the negative symptoms of the disorder

Antipsychotic drugs stimulate the SHT1a receptors located on the GABA neurons which reduces the activity of GABA leading to the activation of glutamate neurons causing a change in the levels of dopamine in the mesocortical area. This then leads to an improvement in cognitive functioning such as verbal learning and attention

Evaluation of drug treatment for schizophrenia

that yet a cared out a review and metal analysis of the effectiveness of antiponychotic drugs and found

move effective at recully any more effective at reducing positive symptoms, but dari chapey chotic drugs are negative symptoms with patients (2005) wiggests that one issue is that effectiveness of the antipsychotic drugs may be more to do with patients stopping taking them due to the side effects, this may explain why newer drugs such as clozapine

seem to be more effective as patients are willing to take them due to reductions of side effects caused Kane (2015) found that patients with schizophrena who received low dosages of drugs with individual talk therapy mude greater progress over a two-year period than patients with schizophrenia who only got drugs. This shows that drugs are not always the best way to treat schizophrenia.

Impact of side effects: High levels of side effects may be the cause of patients stopping taking drugs: Antipsychotic: Dyskinesia, which causes problems such as grimacing, tongue protrusion and rapid movements of the extremities Typical antipsychotic drugs tend to increase levels of prolactin, which can cause an increase in

lactation in patients.

Atypical drugs: Agranulocytosis, which causes a reduction in the number of white blood cells so, limits the immune system to fight off infection.

What debates could be used to analyse drug treatments for schizophrenia?

Drug treatments are scientific as able to check levels of neurotransmitters in the brain, which allows the treatment to be tested effectively when examining a reduction in symptoms of SZ in patients linked to levels of neurochemicals in brain.

Ignores that 52 may be caused by social factors which drugs have no effect on so may not be an effective treatment for all 52 patients as it will depend on where the symptoms came from