What is meant by drug tolerance?

Listen to pronunciation. (… TAH-leh-runts) A condition that occurs when the body gets used to a medicine so that either more medicine is needed or different medicine is needed.

How does drug tolerance occur?

Usually, tolerance develops because metabolism of the drug speeds up (often because the liver enzymes involved in metabolizing drugs become more active) and because the number of sites (cell receptors) that the drug attaches to or the strength of the bond (affinity) between the receptor and drug decreases (see …

What is meant by tolerance to a drug answer?

Tolerance is a person’s diminished response to a drug, which occurs when the drug is used repeatedly and the body adapts to the continued presence of the drug.

What is the result of drug tolerance?

With certain classes of drugs, like opioids, tolerance can increase the risk of dependence, addiction, and overdose. When your body develops tolerance, using higher doses increases the risk of overdose. A benefit of tolerance might be fewer side effects as your body gets used to the medication.

What is it called when your body rejects medicine?

What are immunosuppressants? Immunosuppressants are drugs or medicines that lower the body’s ability to reject a transplanted organ. Another term for these drugs is anti-rejection drugs.

Why is my body so sensitive to drugs?

A large range of drugs are susceptible to variations in metabolism that may make people prone to side effects. They include antidepressants, blood thinners, antibiotics and many more. For many drugs, a therapeutic trial starting with a low dose can help to determine whether you are extra sensitive to its effects.

What causes behavioral tolerance?

Researchers generally believe that the physiological actions of alcohol and other drugs contribute to tolerance by triggering the body to produce opposite physiological reactions in an effort to compensate and restore stable internal conditions (i.e., homeostasis).

What are the different types of drug tolerance?

There are two types of drug tolerance: physiological and behavioral. Physical tolerance occurs in at the cellular level. The body increases the rate at which the drug is broken down (metabolized). For example, when someone drinks regularly, the liver will boost the production of enzymes that break down alcohol,…

What is substance abuse tolerance?

The term tolerance, as it relates to substance abuse, refers to: The need to take larger amounts of a substance to achieve the same effects. With regard to substance abuse, tolerance is defined as the need to take higher and higher doses of a drug to achieve the desired effect.

What is the definition of alcohol tolerance?

Alcohol tolerance refers to the bodily responses to the functional effects of ethanol in alcoholic beverages. This includes direct tolerance, speed of recovery from insobriety and resistance to the development of alcoholism.