What is drug tolerance?
Tolerance is a reduced response to a drug’s action. It can be inborn, in which an individual initially fails to respond to usual doses of a drug, or it can be acquired as a person uses a drug. Most drugs produce some degree of tolerance, which produces a need for higher and higher doses of the drug to produce the same effect as initially. Tolerance occurs in the liver (where enzymes become more active in breaking down the drug), or in the target tissues (where the tissues somehow become less sensitive to the drug’s effects).
Related Questions
- For patients with nonmalignant pain, "drug holidays" may be used to address drug tolerance. How often and at what point should they be implemented?
- To what extent do the school’s zero tolerance alcohol and drug policies allow school involvement in off-campus occurrences?
- How much tolerance do patients develop to a drug ?
