PS101 Chapter Notes - Chapter 16: Relapse Prevention, Therapeutic Index, Lithium Carbonate
Document Summary
Anti-anxiety drugs (tranquilizers: emotional problems, increase neurotransmitter gaba, overprescribed by physicians, symptoms always return if medication is stopped, often overused/overdose, betablockers lower heart rate and blood pressure. Cautions about drug treatment: publication bias, tendency for journals to publish positive findings but not negative or ambiguous ones, much data submitted to fda goes unpublished if it is negative. E. g. nine unpublished studies of paxil the placebo effect. Apparent success of medication or treatment due to patient"s expectations rather than drug or treatment itself. Only 40% respond to specific biological effects of antidepressants: high relapse and dropout rates likely to relapse due to unpleasant side effects, dosage problems. Organizations prefer to pay for one patient visit for prescription rather than. 10 visits for psychotherapy: unknown long term risks. Only tested for a few weeks before released on market. Cost of bringing new drugs to market is high, manufacturers can"t wait.