Critical Review of PTSD. Essay Example

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a form of anxiety disorder that usually takes place once a threatening or scary event occurs. It does not necessarily mean that an individual has to be directly involved in the event. However, the shock an individual receives from an event may force one to live with it for the rest of his or her life, making it hard to live a normal life. There are various side effects that people suffering from PTSD experience, where some of them include insomnia, low self-esteem, and unpleasant events, among many others. It may seem difficult for people who have PTSD to recover, although it can be treated. Various short-and long-term psychotherapy and medications have already been implemented that seem to work well on PTSD patients (Boyd et al., 2018). Therefore, it is important to consider how the antidepressants, anti-anxiety medications, and prazosin classes of medication can be used in the treatment of PTSD and their action at the neurotransmitter system involved in the disease process. It is also important to offer an analysis and description of the agonist-antagonist activity of the drugs and the receptor types and subtypes involved in the disorder while elaborating on the receptor agonist-antagonist actions of the drugs and a description of the most common side effects seen with such drugs.

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Antidepressants

The antidepressants are the classes of medications that can be used in the treatment of PTSD through the reduction of depression and anxiety symptoms. The key aim of the antidepressants is correcting any chemical imbalances of neurotransmitters within the brain of a human being, which has the responsibility of responding to the changes in moods and behaviors of a human being, which are part of the symptoms of people suffering from the PSTD. Under the antidepressant classification of drugs, the serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) are mostly used to treat patients suffering from PSTD. The SNRIs have the responsibility of raising the levels of serotonin and norepinephrine. They usually play a significant role in stabilizing the mood of an individual suffering from PSTD.

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are another medication under the antidepressant class. This is the form of medication that is responsible for treating depression on people suffering from PSTD. The SSRIs have fewer side effects on the patients compared to the other antidepressants. Tricyclic Antidepressants (TCAs) are another drug under the antidepressant class, which can be used in the PSTD treatment (Buhmann et al., 2016). They are usually named so because of the three rings that are available in the chemical structure of these forms of medication. They help in reducing anxiety for the people suffering from PSTD while at the same time helping in controlling chronic pain.

Agonist-Antagonist Activity of the Antidepressants

While considering the agonist activity of the antidepressants, it is important to take into consideration their constitutive association with the arrestins. The antidepressant receptors can, however, participate in the induction of various categories of drugs with the inverse agonist properties. The antidepressants need to be more effective and active even compared to the neural antagonists. The antidepressants still have the antagonists that exhibit medium to higher affinities. The antagonist activities attribute to various activities that result in the exertion of beneficial influence on the mood of an individual as well as his or her cognitive functions hence altering with their depression. PSTD is involved with the Clonidine and Guanfacine, which are the alpha-2 receptor types involved with the disorder. They have the responsibility of decreasing the sympathetic outflow from the central nervous system of the affected individual. The Clonidine is preferably the best practice since it is considered as the nonspecificity for alpha-2 receptor subtypes. That makes it more sedating outright.

Antidepressants Side Effects

Although the antidepressants are part of the most effective medication for the PSTD, it is also associated with various side effects. One such side effect is that once the medication is taken by individuals below the age of 18 years, they may start experiencing various thoughts of suicide. That happens especially when it is the first time for an individual to take the medication. Most of the medication's side effects are evident within the first two weeks since the dosage and then starts wearing off gradually. Most of the common side effects that are seen from the majority of the patients include nausea and anxiety. However, that depends on the type of Antidepressant medication that one takes. It is advisable for one to consult their doctor once they start experiencing such side effects.

Anti-Anxiety Medications

The Anti-Anxiety medications can be used by the PSTD patients to alleviate the generalized anxiety symptoms associated with the PSTD infection. Such classes of medication are mostly prescribed by doctors based on other therapies. The majority of the anti-anxiety medications are habit-forming and are mostly prescribed on a short-term basis or as the need arises. Some such medications may be developed as preventive, while others may be designed to cure the PSTD. The Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (MAOIs) is a form of the anti-anxiety medication whose responsibility is breaking the neurotransmitters, which includes the serotonin. Theoretically, such function results in the stabilization of less anxiety on PSTD patients.

Agonist-Antagonist Activity of the Anti-Anxiety Medications

The postsynaptic receptors are considered as part of the agonist activities that result in the production of many side effects of the anti-anxiety medications. Such activities prevent the effects of acute and chronic administration of anti-anxiety medications. Nevertheless, some of the agonist activities have not yet demonstrated the equivalent clinical efficiency. Based on the positive effects of such agonist activities, the therapeutic effects of anti-anxiety drugs may be the product of the activation of many 5-HT receptors.

The antagonist activities of the anti-anxiety drugs tend to increase the extracellular levels within the glutamate forebrain regions. The role of such antagonist activities tends to improve the performance of regulating the cognitive function. The activities still tend to improve the memory performance within the PSTD patients (Bushnell et al., 2018). Additionally, the antagonist activities still result in the production of the anxiolytic-like effects within the rodents. The combination of such activities tends to be effective, especially in the treatment of the PSTD, which is associated with the cognitive deficits and alteration of the moods of the specific individual suffering from the PSTD.

Anti-Anxiety Medications Side Effects

One of the drugs` side effects is blurred vision. The patients may lack sharp vision, which leads to the patient's inability to see fine details. The blurred vision may sometimes signal the presence of eye disease. The drugs can also result in edema, which is a form of shelling that usually occurs when more fluid becomes trapped within the body tissue taking the medication, and the swelling in most cases occurs on the skin. One such forms of edema are the pedal edema, which results in the swelling in the feet of the individual taking the drugs. The side effects usually start slowly, but the onset can be much sudden. The side effects may be a common problem but can sometimes serve as a sign of the serious condition.

Prazosin

Prazosin is a form of medication required by the PSTD patients, especially in relaxing their blood vessels. That helps the blood to flow more easily all over their body. The drugs are effective in PSTD patients because of their effectiveness in patients with higher baseline systolic blood pressure. The medication has proven to be more effective in PSTD patients, especially when handling insomnia and arousal symptoms of PSTD. Prazosin was initially developed as part of reducing the nightmares and sleep quality together with the overall symptoms of PTSD.

Agonist-Antagonist Activity of the Prazosin

Generally, the agonist-antagonist activities of the prazosin result in the down-regulation phenomenon. The effects of such activities are believed to relate to the receptor status, which leads to the desensitization and the inactive situation, which eventually leads to the down-regulation among the PSTD patients. The different phenomena of the activities can be described through the receptor model that results in the receptors' constitutive activity.

Prazosin Side Effects

Prazosin leads to headaches, tiredness, and nausea, which may occur as the body of an individual continues to adjust to the drugs. The drugs may as well result in dizziness while an individual is standing. Most of such side effects take place after a few days when the patient starts taking the drugs. Once a patient starts experiencing such side effects, it is always important to adjust their dose.

Conclusion

In conclusion, people living with traumatic events develop stress, and that can result in PSTD. It is, therefore, important for such patients to consider using various drugs as a form of treatment. Such medications include antidepressants, anti-anxiety medications, and prazosin. Although such medications may have various side effects, it is important to seek the advice they can use.

References

Boyd, J. E., Lanius, R. A., & McKinnon, M. C. (2018). Mindfulness-based treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder: a review of the treatment literature and neurobiological evidence. Journal of Psychiatry & Neuroscience. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2018-04457-001

Buhmann, C. B., Nordentoft, M., Ekstroem, M., Carlsson, J., & Mortensen, E. L. (2016). The effect of flexible cognitive–behavioral therapy and medical treatment, including antidepressants on posttraumatic stress disorder and depression in traumatized refugees: a pragmatic randomized controlled clinical trial. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 208(3), 252-259. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals

Bushnell, G. A., Compton, S. N., Dusetzina, S. B., Gaynes, B. N., Brookhart, M. A., Walkup, J. T., ... & Stürmer, T. (2018). Treating pediatric anxiety: Initial use of SSRIs and other anti-anxiety prescription medications. The Journal of clinical psychiatry, 79(1). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6468981/