Biomedical treatment

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Biomedical treatment

• By Mr Daniel Hansson

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Biomedical treatment

• What is it?
• Supporting studies
• How can it be used to treat anorexia nervosa and
  major depression?
• Evaluation
• Conclusion

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What is it?

• Psychological disorders are assumed to involve
  changes in brain chemistry (neurotransmitters and
  hormones)
• The treatment focuses on normalizing the brain
  chemistry by the use of medicine, such as
  antidepressants, electroconvulsive therapy or
  psychosurgery (removing the damaged area)

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Types of biomedical treatments

• Drug therapy
• Electroconvulsive therapy (For severe cases of
  depression)
• Psychosurgery (Rare, for severe cases, if all
  other treatments have failed)
• Exercise
• Acupuncture
• Herbal medicine

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Supporting studies

• Caspi (2003)
• Geddes et al.
• Kirsch et al.
• Turner et al.

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How can it be used to treat anorexia nervosa?

• Restore weight
• Anti-depressants (SSRIs) are effective if
  patient is in remission to reduce risk of relapse
• Olanzapine (Zyprexa) may help some low weight
  anorexia patients in regards to anxiety and
  obsessional thinking
• Cyproheptadine (an anti histamine that may
  stimulate appetite)

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How can it be used to treat major depression?

• Use of SSRIs (e.g. Prozac)
• Tricyclic medicine
• Electroconvulsive therapy (for severe cases)

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Evaluation

• More effective for depression than anorexia
  nervosa
• Some studies show that cognitive therapy is as
  effective
• Possible side effects
• Drugs may be expensive
• Only treats symptoms, not causes
• ECT may lead to memory loss, mode of action is
  unknown
• More effective for severe depression
• Many placebo studies show a significant positive
  effect of the treatment
• Some of the effect is due to placebo

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Conclusion

• Should be used in conjunction with other
  treatments and mainly for more severe cases