| abstinence | <psychology> Self-denial, a voluntary refraining from the use of or indulgence in food, stimulants or sexual intercourse. (15 Jan 1998) |
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| abstinence symptoms | A group of morbid symptom's, predominantly erethistic, occurring in an addict who is deprived of his accustomed dose of the addicting agent. Synonym: abstinence symptoms. (05 Mar 2000) |
| abstinence syndrome | <syndrome> A constellation of physiologic changes undergone by persons or animals who have become physically dependent on a drug or chemical due to prolonged use at elevated doses, but who are abruptly deprived of that substance. The abstinence syndrome varies with the drug to which dependence has developed. Generally the effects observed are in an opposite direction from those produced by the drug; e.g., the withdrawal syndrome from central nervous system depressants such as barbiturates and benzodiazepines consists of insomnia, restlessness, tremulousness, hallucinations, and, in the extreme, tonic-clonic convulsions which may prove fatal. The onset time and severity of the abstinence syndrome depend upon how rapidly the drug disappears from the body. (05 Mar 2000) |
| sexual abstinence | Refraining from sexual intercourse. (12 Dec 1998) |
| neonatal abstinence syndrome | <syndrome> Foetal and neonatal addiction and withdrawal as a result of the mother's dependence on drugs during pregnancy. Withdrawal or abstinence symptoms develop shortly after birth. Symptoms exhibited are loud, high-pitched crying, sweating, yawning and gastrointestinal disturbances. (12 Dec 1998) |
| drug-drug interaction | The effects that occur when two or more drugs are used together. Such effects include changes of absorption in the digestive tract, changes in rate of the drugs' breakdown in the liver, new or enhanced side effects and changes in the drugs' activity. (09 Oct 1997) |
| abnormalities, drug-induced | Congenital abnormalities caused by medicinal substances or drugs of abuse given to or taken by the mother, or to which she is inadvertently exposed during the manufacture of such substances. The concept excludes abnormalities resulting from exposure to non-medicinal chemicals in the environment. (12 Dec 1998) |
| activity, drug | A measure of the physiological response a drug produces in the body. A less active drug produces less response (and visa versa). (12 Dec 1998) |
| addictive drug | Any drug that creates a certain degree of euphoria and has a strong potential for addiction. (05 Mar 2000) |
| adverse drug reaction reporting systems | Systems developed for collecting reports from government agencies, manufacturers, hospitals, physicians, and other sources on adverse drug reactions. (12 Dec 1998) |
| akathisia, drug-induced | Motor restlessness with sensations of quivering and an urge to move about constantly resulting from the use of certain drugs, such as neuroleptic drugs, which affect the extrapyramidal region of the brain. This differs from dyskinesia, drug-induced in that long-term antipsychotic drug exposure is significantly correlated with the increased prevalence of akathisia while there is no such correlation with dyskinesia. The primary observable distinction between tardive akathisia and dyskinesia appears to be in the repetitive, stereotypy of the dyskinesic movements (lip smacking, for example), while akathisia is associated with anxiety, restlessness, and agitation (psychomotor agitation). (12 Dec 1998) |
| antineoplastic drug | A drug that stops or slows the maturation and spread of tumour cells (benign or malignant). (09 Oct 1997) |
| maintenance drug therapy | In chemotherapy, systematic dosage at a level that maintains protection against exacerbation. (05 Mar 2000) |
| rational drug design | <pharmacology> Modeling the molecular structure of the target of a drug, for example, an antigen, and then designing a drug that will attack it. (17 Dec 1997) |
| receptors, drug | Proteins that bind specific drugs with high affinity and trigger intracellular changes influencing the behaviour of cells. Drug receptors are generally thought to be receptors for some endogenous substance not otherwise specified. (12 Dec 1998) |