| drug dependence | Use of a drug for a reason other than which it was intended or in a manner or in quantities other than directed. Drug dependence is a compulsion to take a drug to produce a desired effect or prevent unpleasant effects when the drug is withheld. Risk factors for drug abuse include: low self esteem, inability to deal with stress and emotional instability. Juveniles use drugs due to peer pressure. Signs of drug use in children include: a change in friends or group, long absences from home, poor performance in school, seclusion, stealing, lying, criminal behaviour, deteriorating family relationships, signs of drug intoxication and changes in behaviour. Commonly abused drugs include narcotic analgesic agents, benzodiazepines, cocaine, amphetamines, barbiturates, marijuana, LSD and phencyclidine. Many labs now offer quick and inexpensive urine drug screening. Psychological counseling and parental support will be necessary in children with this problem. (27 Sep 1997) |
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| 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) |
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| anchorage dependence | <cell biology, cell culture> The necessity for attachment (and spreading) in order that a cell will grow and divide in culture. Loss of anchorage dependence seems to be associated with greater independence from external growth control and is probably one of the best correlates of tumourigenicity in vivo. Anchorage independence is usually detected by cloning cells in soft agarose, only anchorage independent cells will grow and divide (as they will in suspension). (18 Nov 1997) |
| physical dependence | <pharmacology> Physiologic adaptation of the body to the presence of opioid is required to maintain the same level of analgesia. (31 Dec 1997) |
| morphine dependence | Strong dependence, both physiological and emotional, upon morphine. (12 Dec 1998) |
| heroin dependence | Strong dependence, both physiological and emotional, upon heroin. (12 Dec 1998) |
| psychological dependence | <psychiatry> Pattern of compulsive drug use characterised by a continued craving for an opioid and the need to use the opioid for effects other than pain relief. (16 Dec 1997) |
| substance dependence | A pattern of behavioural, physiologic, and cognitive symptoms that develop due to substance use or abuse; usually indicated by tolerance to the effects of the substance and withdrawal symptoms that develop when use of the substance is terminated. (05 Mar 2000) |
| dependence | The quality or condition of relying upon, being influenced by, or being subservient to a person or object reflecting a particular need. Origin: L. Dependeo, to hang from (05 Mar 2000) |
| inverse density dependence | <epidemiology> See density dependence. (05 Dec 1998) |
| field dependence-independence | The ability to respond to segments of the perceptual experience rather than to the whole. (12 Dec 1998) |
| 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) |